“I was aiming for a good result today and I had the legs to do it. Unfortunately, we made a big mistake and it was not possible. I blame myself and it’s inexcusable…”
Hugo Houle gave himself a soap after a stage where his team missed the right shot in the Côte d’Ivory.
There was no time to look for the beauty of the same name when Kasper Asgreen, Ben O’Connor and Matej Mohorič fled at the foot of the last difficulty of a somewhat crazy 19th stage at the Tour de France, carried out with a bang from kilometer 0 on Friday.
Already Guillaume Boivin, Simon Clarke and Nick Schultz had pedaled like crazy to close the gap on the first breakaway of the day, missed by Israel-Premier Tech (IPT), the Norwegians from Uno-X and the roses from EF Education, who also pushed to the wheel.
A few rows behind, just in front of the Jumbo-Visma of the yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard, Houle gritted his teeth, his head a little more inclined than usual.
“I was nervous!” After all the effort the guys made, I didn’t want to miss my shot when we got back,” said Houle, the last rider to attempt to come back from that initial breakaway.
The crank part at some 50 km/h lasted a good hour, the gap with the leaders freezing desperately around the minute.
Ney’s intermediate sprint, disputed by the Alpecin-Deceuninck of the green jersey Jasper Philipsen, finally gave the necessary impetus to a regrouping. Race restarted 70 kilometers from the finish.
This time, IPT ended up with four in a group of 35 units. Clarke continued his effort to trail the untenable Belgian Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Dstny), en route to a second consecutive Fighter of the Day selection. The Australian veteran, however, suffered from cramps in the Ivory Coast, depriving IPT of a quarter of his leading contingent.
When Asgreen (Soudal Quick-Step) started first, Houle and Krists Neilands were not very well placed. “I didn’t want to put myself completely in the red and then jump,” explained the 32-year-old Quebecer.
Especially since his team could count on his “trump card” for a sprint, the young Corbin Strong. However, the New Zealander fell on the descent, leaving Houle and Neilands the responsibility of defending the colors blue, white and orange.
At 15 km, Asgreen, O’Connor (AG2R) and Mohorič (Bahrain) held a priority of around twenty seconds. In a scenario worthy of the Belgian Spring Classics, nine riders formed a world-class pursuit group, with names like Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin), Philipsen, Tom Pidcock (Ineos), Mads Pedersen (Lidl), Matteo Trentin (UAE) and company.
Seconds behind, Houle told teammate Neilands to watch for the two Jumbo-Vismas, Christophe Laporte and Tiejs Benoot, who had missed the shot like them. “With my experience, I knew one of the two would make it. »
Neilands himself went out with Frenchman Laporte in his wheel… He came back empty-handed.
Houle took the blame along with his Latvian roommate. “It is unacceptable that one of us was not there for the sprint for fourth place. »
The leading trio indeed went all the way to Poligny. O’Connor, the slowest, threw the first, followed by Asgreen, who was aiming for a second consecutive victory after his triumph in extremis the day before at Bourg-en-Bresse.
But it was Mohorič, with a perfectly synchronized thrust, who took the measure of the Dane. By a rim (contoured), showed the finish photo, which is four thousandths of a second.
In tears after the third success of his career on the Tour, Mohorič delivered a stirring plea on the “cruelty” and “harshness” of cycling.
“You suffer a lot during the preparation, unpacked the Slovenian. You’re sacrificing your life and family and doing everything you can to get here ready. Then after a few days you realize that everyone is incredibly strong, that sometimes it’s hard to just follow the wheel of the guy in front of you. »
The ex-Milan-San Remo winner praised Asgreen’s “will and determination” to attack again after their victory the day before.
“You feel like you have no business there. Then I am, by the sheer force of the mind, and I know that I have to do everything perfectly [to hope to win]. »
For Gino Mäder, his teammate who was killed in the race last month, and the team staff members, who have to jog at 6 a.m. to carry out their daily work until 11 p.m.
Mohorič even had a thought for O’Connor (3rd), who committed himself to the end, knowing his chances were almost non-existent.
“You almost feel like you betrayed them because you beat them on the line. But that’s the nature of professional sports. Everyone wants to win. »
A little more, and Mohorič apologized for having inherited the bouquet. “I know I’m strong enough to win a Tour de France stage, but so are 150 other guys. Right now, every runner deserves a win. I saw their faces in the gruppetto in the Col de la Loze the other day. You know what they go through. I would like each of them to win a stage because I know how much it changes your life. But that is not possible. And it is cruel. »
Sixteenth in this stage, which was completed at 49.13 km/h, the fifth average in history, Houle was in complete agreement.
“At the speed it’s going, if you’re not at your best, it’s not possible,” said the winner in Foix last year. I won’t win a stage every year, but I’m capable of winning another, that’s for sure. »
