Cycling
Guillaume Boivin revives the “fun” of the sprint
The last time Guillaume Boivin got involved like this in a peloton sprint, it must have been at Mardis de Lachine, where he wrote his name next to the course record in 2009.
Released from his obligations to his South African teammate Daryl Impey, who suffered a puncture about twenty kilometers from the finish, the cyclist from Israel-Premier Tech was able to try his luck on the fifth stage of the Tour of Catalonia, Friday, in Vilanova i la Geltrú.
The Canadian champion did well, finishing fourth in a sprint regulated by the young Briton Ethan Vernon (Quick-Step), author of his first victory among the professionals.
“It’s fun to do a sprint again, it’s been a long time since I had this feelingthere, ”reacted the 32-year-old Quebecer.
Initiator of the final packaging some 200 m from the line, Boivin was brought up by Vernon, 21, the German Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain) and the Frenchman Dorian Godon (Ag2r), who returned in this order.
“I threw it quite far with a headwind, but that means the legs are good. […] I have no regrets. I’d rather do this and have a chance to win than stay locked up and not be able to sprint. I am not a pure sprinter. I have to try to go far to have a chance. »
A bunch sprint of this nature was a long time ago. “It must have been 10 years. In fact, I don’t remember. Indeed, it was surely at the Mardis de Lachine! Obviously, the level is not even here. It felt a little weird, but it was the fun ! »
Victim of a fall at the Étoile de Bessèges and stopped by back pain after two stages in Paris-Nice, Boivin was above all happy to turn the wind around.
I am happy. It’s been going really well since the start of the week. I get over the bumps really well. Yesterday [jeudi], we got up on the last climb to save our legs. But during the stage, I was always in front.
Guillaume Boivin
The native of Jonquière considers his level of form “really close” to that of the end of last season, when he shone at the World Championships in Louvain (17and) and Paris-Roubaix (9and). “It gives me confidence for the big goals in Belgium. »
Thanks to a bonus second picked up during the last intermediate sprint, the Portuguese João Almeida (UAE), winner at the top of Boi Taull the day before, stole the leader’s jersey from the Colombian Nairo Quintana, now 2and.
Boivin is not the first Quebecer to shine at this World Tour category event. In 2013, François Parisien had signed the most important victory of his career there, a few months before retiring.
Swell in “catch-up mode”
Boivin will reunite with teammate Hugo Houle at the Tour of Flanders next week. On the floor after a “big cold” which followed his 13and place in Paris-Nice, Houle suffered the repercussions during his return race at the E3 Grand Prix on Friday.
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, PRESS ARCHIVES
Quebec cyclist Hugo Houle
“It took me almost a week to recover, explained the cyclist from Sainte-Perpétue. Monday and Wednesday were going well, but today during the race, I felt it a bit on the respiratory level. It’s a feeling that’s hard to describe. It’s painful in the bronchi. But the legs were good. »
Houle was in a bad position when the Belgian Wout van Aert and some Jumbo-Visma teammates caused a first selection in the Taaienberg, a cobblestone mountain often decisive in this mini-Tour of Flanders.
“I was too far. Afterwards, I had to use a lot of energy to join the leading group. From then on, I was always a bit out of time. Every time I came back on the lead, a group came out. I was not in the running. admits Hugo Houle, Guillaume Boivin’s teammate. “I came back because I had good legs, but I wasn’t placed where I needed to be when it was time. »
You suffer instead of being more in control anticipating the blows. I was more in catch-up mode all day.
Hugo Houle, Quebec cyclist
Van Aert, who completed the cleaning in the Paterberg, won at the end of the 204 km, hand in hand with his French teammate Christophe Laporte. Switzerland’s Stefan Küng (Groupama) finished third, crossing the line a minute and a half later.
Swell (44and) returned with the main peloton at six minutes, with the mandate to prepare the sprint for his teammate Jenthe Biermans, without much success (38and).
“It’s weird, everyone was attacking instead of riding to the line, even if we were going for the 16and position. »
After a meeting with the team doctor, Houle will decide what to do next. Theoretically, he must start from Ghent-Wevelgem on Sunday, a last-minute assignment that he would not be unhappy to leave to another. In an ideal world, he was preparing for Across Flanders on Wednesday and the Tour of Flanders on Sunday.
After his performance in the northeast of Spain, Boivin is very eager to set off for the great Belgian classic. “Van Aert and Laporte were above the others in the E3 Grand Prix, but the Tour of Flanders is longer,” he remarked. If I can play tactics a little and try to anticipate, I have the legs to do the same kind of performance as last year. »
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Sophia Jhon is a sports journalist and author. He has worked as a news editor for Sportish and is now a sport columnist for the same publication. Alberta’s professional interests lie largely in sports news, with an emphasis on English football. He has also written articles on other sporting topics.