# Hugo Houle

Hugo Houle (born September 27, 1990) is a Canadian professional cyclist, who rides for UCI ProTeam Israel–Premier Tech.

## Career

Born in Sainte-Perpétue, Centre-du-Québec, Quebec, 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 SpiderTech–C10. Whilst at SpiderTech–C10, Houle won the general classification of the Tour de Québec as well as a stage. He also finished third in the Canadian National Time Trial Championships 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)

SpiderTech–C10 disbanded at the end of the 2012 season, and Houle moved to French professional team Ag2r–La Mondiale. During this time, he competed in the Giro d'Italia twice and the Vuelta a España once. He also won the time trial at the Pan American Games and the Canadian National Time Trial Championships in 2015. In 2016, he was officially named in Canada's 2016 Olympic team.

### Astana (2018–21)

In 2018, Houle signed for Astana, becoming the first Canadian to sign for the team. He rode his first Tour de France in 2019. In September 2019, he extended his contract with Astana through 2022. He represented Canada at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

### Israel–Premier Tech

Despite holding a contract for the 2022 season with the Astana Qazaqstan Team, Houle left the team, and joined Israel–Premier Tech on a three-year contract.
Having featured in the breakaway on the ninth stage of the Tour de France without success, Houle was involved in a successful breakaway four stages later with 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 39 kilometres (24 miles) 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 and teammate Michael Woods. This made him only the second Canadian rider to win an individual stage in the Tour de France, after his Israel–Premier Tech directeur sportif Steve Bauer, who won the first stage in 1988. He then followed this up with second place overall, behind Andreas Leknessund, 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 (English: Operation Red Nose), a charity which aims to stop drunk-driving on the roads.
Houle dedicated his win in Stage 16 of the 2022 Tour de France to his brother.

## Major results

Source:

### 2010

    1st Time trial, National Under-23 Road Championships

### 2011

    National Under-23 Road Championships
       1st Road race
       1st Time trial
    3rd Overall Tour de Québec

### 2012

    National Road Championships
       1st Under-23 time trial
       3rd Time trial
    1st Overall Tour de Québec
       1st Stage 3
    1st Mountains classification Coupe des nations Ville Saguenay
    2nd Overall Tour de Beauce
       1st Young rider classification
    4th Road race, UCI Under-23 Road World Championships

### 2014

    2nd Time trial, National Road Championships

### 2015 (2 pro wins)

    1st Time trial, Pan American Games
    1st Time trial, National Road Championships

### 2016

    2nd Overall Tour de Beauce

### 2017

    5th Overall Boucles de la Mayenne

### 2018

    4th Overall Tour Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle-Aquitaine
    8th Overall Danmark Rundt

### 2019

    5th Overall Arctic Race of Norway

### 2021 (1)

    1st Time trial, National Road Championships
    Combativity award Stage 10 Tour de France

### 2022 (1)

    Tour de France
       1st Stage 16
       Combativity award Stage 16
    2nd Overall Arctic Race of Norway

### 2023

    3rd Maryland Cycling Classic
    8th Overall Étoile de Bessèges

### Grand Tour general classification results timeline

| Grand Tour | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Giro d'Italia | 113 | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tour de France | — | — | — | — | 91 | 47 | 66 | 24 | 38 | 50 |
| Vuelta a España | — | — | 115 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Legend :
| — | Did not compete |
| DNF | Did not finish |