Hugo Houle (born 27 September 1990) is a Canadian professional cyclist, who rides for

UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road cycling, the UCI World Tour or UCI ProTour ...

Career

Born in

Sainte-Perpétue, Centre-du-Québec, Quebec Sainte-Perpétue is a parish municipality in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec, Canada, situated along Route 259. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 983. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statisti ...

, Houle began racing triathlons, aged 10, alongside his brother, before focussing on cycling at the age of 16. He became acquainted with former professional cyclist Louis Garneau, who provided him with a team and equipment. Between 2008 and 2010, Houle combined cycling with completing a college degree in Québec. After graduating, he signed his first professional contract with Canadian team . Whilst at , Houle won the general classification of the

Tour de Québec The Tour de Québec is a road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race held on the Quebec city region. Created in September 2008 and now held annually in July. The event is for Pro-AM men, but other categories also compete; Juniors, masters and women ...

as well as a stage. He also finished third in the

Canadian National Time Trial Championships Governed by Cycling Canada, the Canadian National Time Trial Championship is a road bicycle race that takes place inside the Canadian National Cycling Championship, and decides the best cyclist in this type of race. Svein Tuft is the all-time Ca ...

in 2012, as well as finishing fourth at the under-23 road race at the 2012 UCI Road World Championships.

AG2R La Mondiale (2013–17)

disbanded at the end of the 2012 season, and Houle moved to French professional team . During this time, he competed in the Giro d'Italia twice and the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the ...

once. He also won the time trial at the Pan American Games and the

in 2015. In 2016, he was officially named in Canada's 2016 Olympic team.

Astana (2018–21)

In 2018, Houle signed for , becoming the first Canadian to sign for the team. He rode his first

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. In September 2019, he extended his contract with through 2022. He represented Canada at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

Israel–Premier Tech

Despite holding a contract for the 2022 season with the , Houle left the team, and joined on a three-year contract. Having featured in the breakaway on the ninth stage of the

without success, Houle was involved in a successful breakaway four stages later with

Mads Pedersen Mads Pedersen may refer to: * Mads Pedersen (canoeist) (born 1996), Danish canoeist * Mads Pedersen (cyclist) (born 1995), Danish cyclist * Mads Pedersen (footballer, born 1993), Danish footballer * Mads Valentin, Danish footballer * Mads Pedersen ...

and Fred Wright; Houle led out the sprint in Saint-Étienne, but was beaten to the line by both Pedersen and Wright. Following the final rest day, Houle made his third breakaway of the race on stage 16. With remaining, Houle opened a gap on the rest of the breakaway and soloed away to win the stage by more than a minute ahead of

Valentin Madouas Valentin Madouas (born 12 July 1996) is a French cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Described as a puncheur, Madouas has seen success in one-day classic races as well as having strong climbing abilities. In May 2019, he was ...

and teammate

Michael Woods Michael Woods may refer to: * Michael Woods (Australian politician) (1857–1934), member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Michael Woods (comics), American writer/editor of comic books * Michael Woods (cyclist) (born 1986), Canadian cyclist ...

. This made him only the second Canadian rider to win an individual stage in the Tour de France, after his

directeur sportif A ''directeur sportif'' (French for sporting director, although the original French term is often used in English-language media; plural ''directeurs sportifs'') is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event. It is se ...

Steve Bauer Steven Todd Bauer, MSM (born June 12, 1959) is a retired professional road bicycle racer from Canada. He won the first Olympic medal in road cycling for Canada and until 2022 he was the only Canadian to win an individual stage of the Tour de Fr ...

, who won the first stage in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

. He then followed this up with second place overall, behind

Andreas Leknessund Andreas Rikardsen Leknessund (born 21 May 1999 in Tromsø) is a Norwegian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Major results ;2016 : 2nd Time trial, National Junior Road Championships : 5th Time trial, UEC European Junior Road Cham ...

, at the Arctic Race of Norway.

Personal life

Houle's brother, Pierrick, was killed by a drunk driver in 2012 while out running. Since then, Houle has contributed to Opération Nez Rouge ( en, Operation Red Nose), a charity which aims to stop drink-driving on the roads. Houle dedicated his win in Stage 16 of the

2022 Tour de France The 2022 Tour de France was the 109th edition of the Tour de France. It started in Copenhagen, Denmark on 1 July 2022 and ended with the final stage on the Champs-Élysées, Paris on 24 July 2022. Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard () won the general clas ...

to his brother.

Major results

Source: ;2010 : 1st MaillotCan

Time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

, National Under-23 Road Championships ;2011 : National Under-23 Road Championships ::1st MaillotCan

Road race ::1st MaillotCan

: 3rd Overall

;2012 : National Road Championships ::1st MaillotCan

Under-23 time trial ::3rd

: 1st

Overall

::1st Stage 3 : 1st Mountains classification

Coupe des nations Ville Saguenay The Coupe des nations Ville Saguenay was a bicycle stage race held annually in Saguenay, Quebec, Canada. It was part of the UCI America Tour and the race was reserved to riders between 19 and 22 of age and was rated 2.Ncup by the UCI. It was the o ...

: 2nd Overall

Tour de Beauce Tour de Beauce is a men's elite professional road bicycle racing multi-day event held each June in the Beauce region of Quebec, Canada since 1986. It is the oldest stage-race in North America, and is a Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)-rated 2. ...

::1st

Young rider classification : 4th Road race, UCI Under-23 Road World Championships ;2014 : 2nd

, National Road Championships ;2015 : 1st Gold medal blank

, Pan American Games : 1st MaillotCan

, National Road Championships ;2016 : 2nd Overall

;2017 : 5th Overall

Boucles de la Mayenne The Boucles de la Mayenne is a road bicycle race held annually in the Mayenne department and Pays de la Loire region in France. It was first held in 1975 and from 2006 until 2019, it was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race ...

;2018 : 4th Overall

Tour Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle-Aquitaine Tour Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle-Aquitaine is a road bicycle race held annually in the former region of Poitou-Charentes (now Nouvelle-Aquitaine) France. It was first held in 1987 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI E ...

: 8th Overall

Danmark Rundt Danmark Rundt is a Danish stage race for professional road bicycle racers organized as a part of the UCI Continental Circuits. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, PostNord, and the race is therefore also known as Po ...

;2019 : 5th Overall Arctic Race of Norway ;2021 : 1st MaillotCan

, National Road Championships : Jersey red number

Combativity award The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing to a stage's or the overall race's most aggressive rider. References {{cycling-stub Cycling jerseys ...

Stage 10

;2022 :

::1st Stage 16 :: Jersey red number

Combativity award The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing to a stage's or the overall race's most aggressive rider. References {{cycling-stub Cycling jerseys ...

Stage 16 : 2nd Overall Arctic Race of Norway ;2023 : 8th Overall

Étoile de Bessèges The Étoile de Bessèges () is an early-season five-day road bicycle racing stage race held annually around Bessèges, in the Gard department of the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. First organized in 1971 as a one-day race, it became a ...

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

*
Cyclingbase profile for Hugo Houle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houle, Hugo 1990 births Canadian male cyclists Living people Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists of Canada Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Cyclists at the 2015 Pan American Games Canadian Tour de France stage winners Pan American Games medalists in cycling Canadian people of French descent People from Centre-du-Québec Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Cyclists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Cyclists from Quebec 21st-century Canadian people