Tour de France: Hugo Houle, on behalf of his tragically deceased brother

Special envoy to Foix

To discover

• The route of the Tour de France 2022

• The general classification of the Tour de France

Last Friday, he had finished the stage in Saint-Etienne emptied, his morale in the socks, aware of having come very close to a victory which he had promised to his brother, who died ten years ago. .

On the podium but dejected, Hugo Houle had sworn to try his luck again in the third week of racing.

For him, of course, his team but also Pierrick, never far from his thoughts when he gets on the bike with a little blessed cross, slid against his chest, given to him by the former director of the Séminaire Saint-François, in Saint- Augustin de Desmaures.

Monday, in Foix, the 31-year-old Canadian offered his first victory in the Grande Boucle after a magnificent solo effort, his arm raised to the sky as he crossed the line, in tribute to his little brother, training companion when they were preparing for triathlons together as teenagers.

In 2012, Pierrick (19) went out running in the streets of the small town of Sainte-Perpétue (Quebec) the days before Christmas.

A few hours earlier, having just returned from France to join the family cocoon, Hugo had taken the time to tell him about his first internship with the AG2R team.

But the reunion was cut short.

A drunk driver hit the young jogger head-on.

Powerless, when he arrived at the scene of the tragedy, Hugo saw his brother die before his eyes, holding his hand despite attempts at cardiac resuscitation.

The driver, who had fled, was sentenced to eleven months in prison.

I'm sure my brother helped me

Hugo Houle

“

, “said this model teammate, a Quebec accent to cut with a knife.

"

," he added, moved, a few moments after his victory.

Read alsoTour de France: the panache of Houle, the day without Bardet, the tops and flops of the 16th stage

Following the disappearance of his brother, Hugo Houle spent a long time looking for the motivation to pursue his career at the top level, pursued by a depressive state.

“

 : “

” , he confided to

a few months ago.

The Quebecer, who has been playing at the highest level since 2013, was able to climb the slope.

Tuesday in the sultry streets of Foix, I certainly had the answer to this existential question.

Since the disappearance of his brother, Houle always took two photos with him in his suitcase, the first of his partner and the other of Pierrick.

He will now be able to add to his two lucky charms a medal engraved with July 19, 2022, which now accompanies all the stage winners of the Grande Boucle.