Canadian Houle wins Stage 16 of Tour de France

FOIX, France — Hugo Houle pointed at the sky as he crossed the finish line well ahead of the competition in Stage 16 of the Tour de France.

After finishing the hilly 178.5-kilometre stage through the Pyrenees from Carcassonne to Foix in four hours 23 minutes 47 seconds — 1:10 ahead of France's Valentin Madouas and Israel-Premier Tech teammate Michael Woods of Ottawa — Houle dedicated his historic win to his younger brother.

Pierrik Houle died in December 2012 when he was hit by a car while jogging. He was 19.

"I had one dream, to win the stage for my brother," Houle said after the race.

Houle, from Sainte-Perpetue, Que., realized that dream when he raced to his first Grand Tour stage win on Tuesday, and the first stage win by a Canadian at the Tour de France in 34 years.

Steve Bauer, now sporting director at Israel-Premier Tech, captured the opening stage of the Tour in 1988.

It's the second podium finish for Houle at this year's Tour. He finished third in Stage 13 on Friday.

Houle's teammate Michael Woods of Ottawa was third, making for an unprecedented day of success for Canada at the elite Grand Tour cycling race.

Madouas was second on Tuesday and Woods finished third for his second career Tour de France podium. He was third in Stage 8 of last year's race.

Houle moved up seven spots to 26th in the overall classification. Woods moved up 11 spots to 36th.

Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard retained the yellow jersey as the race's overall leader.

Houle attacked on the approach to the final climb, the top category Mur de Péguère, and held off the group of chasers from the remnants of the breakaway over the leg that featured four classified climbs — including two top-category ascents.

The 31-year-old had crested the final climb