Every day is different and some days are special, but one element of every day is the same. A little less than ten years ago, Hugo Hule lost his brother Pierrick in a hit-and-run accident in their home village of Saint-Perpeteau, halfway between Montreal and Quebec. Sorrow has been a companion in all the days since.
That was inevitably the case with Uhle on the day of his biggest celebration on Tuesday afternoon when he soloed to victory in Foix on stage 16 of the Tour de France. It was his first win as a professional, it was Canada’s first stage win in this race since Steve Bauer in 1988, and it was dedicated to Pierik’s memory.
“He was two years younger than me and he was my biggest fan,” Houle said. “When I finished fourth in the U23 World Cup in 2012, he sent me a video to congratulate me. After the day I lost him, I had no one to share such things with. There was a gap. Of course, when things like that happen in life, it takes a few months to move on and move on.”
Pierrick Houle, like his brother, was a triathlete as a teenager and they competed against each other as siblings. At the age of 19, Pierik went out for a run one night and never returned, hit by a car that fled the scene. Besides the grief of this loss, Hugo Hule suffered the deep trauma of searching for his brother with his family that December evening.
“The man ran away and left him on the side of the road. Me and my family had to search for my brother. “I found him about three hours later, dead,” Hole said. “When I got there, they were doing CPR. I took hold of his hand and saw the blood coming from his ear and mouth and knew that he was dead.
A few weeks later, Houle was on a flight to France to begin his WorldTour career in AG2R La Mondiale. In those first months as a pro, he was present in body rather than spirit, and it showed in his results. Another team might have taken him to the exit, but Vincent Lavenue has always prided himself on being something of a family man. Houle was given time to find his way again, first as a grieving young man and then as an emerging cyclist.
“I remember being in Paris-Roubaix and I just didn’t know what I was doing because I was quite shocked by this event. It took me a whole year to get back to normal,” Hole said. “This team was amazing, they took care of me. I was a young professional and they could just say “Next”. It took a few years to get back to a good level, but they gave me a lot of time to recover from it. I am where I am now because they gave me time to recover from my brother’s death.
Bauer and the Canadian connection
Houle spent five years with AG2R and then four with Astana, gradually finding a place for himself in the WorldTour peloton. At the end of last season, he joined Premier Tech’s exodus from Astana, moving with Canadian sponsor to Israel Premier Tech. The owner of Hule’s new team, Sylvain Adams, was born in Montreal. Canada’s greatest cyclist, Steve Bauer, is his sporting director, and the country’s current leader, Michael Woods, is his teammate.
Houle had Woods for company in the day’s break on Tuesday and his compatriot would take third on the stage to cap off a remarkable afternoon for Canadian cycling. When Houle launched his winning move before the final pull up the Mur de Péguère, Woods was guarding the break until it split behind, tracking Matteo Jorgensen over the top. A crash for Jorgensen ended any faint prospect of Houle being caught, and the Quebec native had Bauer, winner of Machecoul in 1988, on his radio to reassure him in the final kilometers.
“It’s been a year since I’ve seen my parents, my family, because I have to be in Europe to race, and what motivates me is to win a stage of the Tour,” Hule said.
“I’m happy to be able to win for the Canadians and I’m also happy to have Steve Bauer behind me in the car. He was on the radio telling us, “Enjoy it guys, enjoy it.” I was still on full throttle and he said, “You’ve got this, take it easy man.” It was nice to have time to enjoy it. I just hope it doesn’t take 34 years for another Canadian to win the Tour.”
Uhle crested the Mur de Péguère alone at the head of the race, but not without company. On the descent into Foix, the memory of his brother Pieric traveled with him. In that sense, at least, it was a day like any other. “That was my motivation, to win for my little brother,” Houle said. “And today I did.”
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