Tour de France “My turn will come”, hopes Hugo Houle

Krists Neilands was served a few reprimands by his teammate Hugo Houle at the end of the fifth stage of the Tour de France, last week.

On a breakaway in the Soudet pass, the Latvian from Israel-Premier Tech (IPT) had shown himself a little too much when the best of the group accelerated as they approached the summit of this first Pyrenean pass. He was over 39^e nearly seven minutes behind the winner and one-day yellow jersey, Jai Hindley (Bora).

After his fourth place in the 10^e stage, won by the Spaniard Pello Bilbao on Tuesday, Neilands could expect another “briefing” from Houle.

“He would have to be a little smarter and he will win,” advised the Quebecer, disappointed to see him pass so close.

Constantly on the attack during this sweltering day – almost 40 degrees at the finish in Issoire – Neilands broke away from the small group of leaders of eight riders on the Chapelle-Marcousse coast, 32.5 km from the thread. At the top of this last climb, he gave himself a 35-second priority over five pursuers, including the dashing Bilbao (Bahrain).

An excellent driver, Neilands kept just under half his lead on the descent, but he lacked a sparkling past Perrier on the final 7 km straight.

Joined at 3 km, the native of Ventspils could only play the extras in the sprint, skilfully negotiated by Bilbao, who respectively beat the German Georg Zimmerman (Intermarché) and the reborn Australian Ben O’Connor (AG2R).

“He shows his strength too much,” said Houle, who got up on the final climb to finish 115^emore than 20 minutes.

“I had quibbled with him a little after the fifth stage when we left on the breakaway. He had done the same kind of stunt. I told him he had to be very smart. He is so strong that he is able to win, but he still has to play the game with the group. »

Elected the most combative of the day, Neilands is in a way the mirror of his roommate on the Tour. “Krists is a great runner, a complete runner. It’s very quiet at times, but it’s also very solid for getting the job done. I was glad he showed up today. I hope he will slam one very soon. But since the start of the Tour, he has been on his feet and that makes me happy. »

The day after the rest day and less than 48 hours after Michael Woods’ inspiring victory at the Puy de Dôme, Houle also wanted to try his luck at the start of this nervous stage launched from Vulcania.

On the lookout, the athlete from Sainte-Perpétue even found himself in a considerably reduced peloton where Tadej Pogačar’s UAE managed to partially isolate the yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard and his close guard from Jumbo-Visma.

“I thought maybe it was going to go downhill after the second climb. There were very few runners left and I was already happy to be there, especially with the heat. There were several attacks, but it didn’t want to go away and it was done on a more rolling road where it was more tactical. »

His teammate Nick Schultz “sniffed out the right shot” and Houle wanted to join him in a counter. “I really wanted to go, but Neilands got the better of me and he left a little faster. It’s like that. I respect teammates. In the end, it was good to have these two riders in front. This is what makes our team strong. I’m going to take another step. »

In energy-saving mode since the start in Bilbao, the stage winner in Foix last year is delighted with his condition halfway through his fifth Tour de France.

“When it was the big battle, I had the legs to be in front. I think there were 25 riders left in the peloton when the breakaway officially left. guys like [David] Gaudu and [Romain] Bardet were released. It shows that I am in good shape and that I have the level. Eventually, it will come out and my turn will come. »

Bilbao, who admitted that “Neilands was the strongest”, awaited his after two disappointments at home during the big start in the Basque Country.

The double stage winner at the Giro added a first success on the Tour to his list. The 2015 Tour de Beauce champion obviously dedicated his victory to his teammate Gino Mäder, who died tragically on the 16th June the day after a fall in a descent at the Tour de Suisse. “I just let go of all my anger” crossing the line, expressed Bilbao, who showed the name of the missing person inscribed on his helmet.

“It’s been difficult to prepare for the last two weeks with him in the lead,” he added, holding himself back so as not to crack.

“I stayed with my family at home. My daughter Martina [1 an] helped me a lot to just stay calm and try to keep my positive energy to achieve something good at the Tour. It was not possible to do it in the first two stages, which were so special for me, but I just waited for my moment. »

In honor of Mäder, Bilbao has resumed its initiative by donating 1 euro to an environmental cause for each runner who arrived behind him during the stages of the Grande Boucle. On Tuesday, he therefore raised the maximum with 168 euros.

Adding to their victory, Bilbao climbed six rungs overall to settle in fifth behind young compatriot Carlos Rodriguez, forced to roll his trapped Ineos. After the first-hour skirmish, Vingegaard and Pogačar kept their respective positions. Seventeen seconds still separate them in the lead.

With only three fourth category climbs and a rolling finish, the 11^e 179.8 km stage between Clermont-Ferrand and Moulins seems promised to sprinters this Wednesday.

Hugo Houle has already ticked the 12^e, Thursday, whose profile is similar to that of Tuesday. “That, everyone knows, but hey, we’ll try. »