Hugo Houle has demonstrated once again that he will not let the absence of his teammates bring him down at Paris-Nice. Friday, during the sixth stage disputed on the mountainous roads between Courthézon and Aubagne, the cyclist of the Israel – Premier Tech formation finished in 34th place, within the leading peloton.
“It was good in general. It’s a tough day for the body with the mountains and the headwind at around 30 km/h. Being alone makes it harder for me to try and hide from the wind, but some teams have been nice to me. I wanted to stay ahead and stay with the big names. I was well placed in the final, I wanted to finish in the peloton, the objective is achieved, ”explained Houle in an interview with Sportcom.
All of Houle’s teammates have fallen in action over the past few days due to injury or infection. The Quebecer had shone the day before by finishing in 25th place, and he does not seem to want to slow down by the end of the competition scheduled for Sunday.
“The form is still holding up. The level is there, I think it should still be the case for the next two stages. It’s not easy, but it’s okay. »
The sixth stage was won in a sprint by Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies). The Frenchman broke down in tears after a 5:33:6 effort.
Burgaudeau broke away from Dane Mads Pedersen (Trek – Segafredo) and Belgian Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) just before the finish line to win.
No change to report at the top of the provisional general classification. The leader, the Slovenian Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma), also finished among the leading pack on Friday, as did his pursuers Simon Yates (BikeExchange – Jayco) and Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies). The Briton is 39 seconds behind Roglic, while the Frenchman is 41 seconds behind.
Hugo Houle retains 11th place at the dawn of the seventh and penultimate stage of Paris-Nice which will be held in the mountains on Saturday, between Nice and the Col de Turini. The cyclist from Sainte-Perpétue will do everything possible to maintain his ranking.
“It could be another difficult day tomorrow (Saturday) with the climb of the mythical Col de Turini. It would be an exceptional result if I manage to maintain my ranking or even climb into the top-10. There are excellent climbers who will be dangerous in the coming days, but I will give my 110%,” he concluded.
