Hugo Houle hasn’t finished outside the top-20 so far this season

Sunday saw the conclusion of the two-stage, 2.1-rated Tour Cycliste International du Haut Var Matin in hilly southwest France, where Direct Energie’s Jonathan Hivert took his second stage and all around victory. But Sunday was also a good result for Canadian Hugo Houle, riding in his first season for Astana. Houle’s 20th place in a bunch 23-seconds back was only one place off of his 19th spot on Saturday and gave him 15th of GC.

2ème de l'étape du jour et du général du Tour du Haut-Var derrière un @HivertJonathan très costaud! pic.twitter.com/pMKWVPshki

— Alexis Vuillermoz (@A_Vuillermoz) February 18, 2018

Houle might not have finished his very first outing with Astana, February 10’s Vuelta a Murcia in Spain, which his teammate Luis Leon Sanchez won, but he came out strong the next day in the Clasica de Almeria, where he was 15th. This not only made him top Canadian, but also top Astana man.

Houle will stay in Southwest France for the one-day Faun Environnement-Classic de l’Ardèche Rhône Crussol on February 24 and the Royal Bernard Drome Classic the next day, 1.1-rated races both.

Right now it’s undetermined whether or not Houle will get the call for a 2018 Grand Tour. He has raced two Giros d’Italia and one Vuelta a España, averaging one Grand Tour a season over the last three years while with AG2R. Angel Lopez and LL Sanchez are Astana’s protected riders for the Giro, while Jakob Fuglsang will be the team’s main GC force at the Tour de France.