Hugo Houle solos to Stage 16 win as Jonas Vingegaard shuts down Tadej Pogacar attacks at Tour de France

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) promised to attack in the final week of the Tour – and the Slovenian two-time champion was true to his work with no fewer than four pulsating accelerations on the penultimate climb of Stage 16 as the Tour de France entered the sweltering foothills of the Pyrenees on Tuesday. Race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) was able to close each of his rival's attacks while Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) rode back in contention on the final descent as the top three riders of this Tour came home together in Foix almost six minutes after Canada’s Hugo Houle (Israel-Premier Tech) took an emotional win.

Ad/> Houle’s victory – his first as a professional – came after the 31-year-old surged clear of the remnants of the day’s 29-man breakaway just ahead of the final climb, the Mur de Peguere, with just under 40km remaining. As the gradient ramped up to double digits for the three kilometres preceding the summit, Houle held on for a 25-second lead ahead of the descent into Foix.

Tour de France‘Bang!’ – Pogacar launches furious uphill and downhill attacks on VingegaardAN HOUR AGO With the chase of the American Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) being thwarted by Houle’s compatriot and teammate Michael Woods, Houle extended his lead on the fast descent – forcing Jorgenson to take the risks that saw him skid to the ground on a corner inside the final 10km. As he crossed the line to secure Canada’s first stage win on the Tour since Steve Bauer in 1988, Houle pointed to the sky in memory of his late brother Pierrick, who was killed by a drunk driver in a hit-and-run incident a decade ago.