Hugo Houle ties career high in WorldTour stage race GC with 13th in Paris-Nice

Last March, Hugo Houle scored his greatest career WorldTour stage race GC with 13th in Tirreno-Adriatico, and on Sunday the lone Israel-Premier Tech rider left in the 80th edition of Paris-Nice matched that high mark. Primož Roglič, who crashed out of the Paris-Nice yellow in last year’s wet finale, survived a late scare on Sunday courtesy of Simon Yates to take his first Race to the Sun.

The Course

The final route of the 80th Paris-Nice contained five climbs spread out evenly over 115 km. Three Cat. 2 ascents led to two Cat. 1 climbs in the final half: Montee de Peille at 6.6 km of 6.8 percent and Col d’Èze, 6 km at 7.7 percent and peaking 15.5 km from the line in Nice. It was a rainy day.

We're in for a short, but fast and action-packed #ParisNice stage, with the iconic Col d'Èze the cherry on the cake that is this eighth and final day of the race. pic.twitter.com/ZILUSm9a9M

— Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team (@qst_alphavinyl) March 13, 2022

Roglič went into Sunday leading Yates by 47 seconds and Dani Martinez by a minute, with Martinez’s Ineos teammate and Yates’ twin Adam +1:50.

By the end of the third Cat. 2 there was no breakaway, with Jumbo-Visma pulling the pack.

Montee de Peille

Ineos grabbed the reins on the first Cat. 1, popping riders off the back of the pack. Martinez made a thrust with Wout Van Aert and Roglič able to join him. Nairo Quintana and Simon Yates bridged over too and the Belgian led the quintet down the long descent. Roglič tempted fate by taking off his leg warmers on the downhill. Martinez punctured and could not chase back on.

Col d’Èze

Quintana upped the pace when Èze kicked up and then made a dig. Yates then attacked on the steepest section, dropping Quintana and Roglič. Van Aert dragged his Slovenian teammate up the climb.

Yates tipped over with a 25-second lead. The Brit’s lead fell as Van Aert continued to be the engine. Yates would take the stage victory, but he couldn’t make up enough time to steal Roglič’s crown.

The next WorldTour stage race is the Volta a Catalunya, which begins on March 21.

2022 Paris-Nice Stage 8
1) Simon Yates (Great Britain/BikeExchange-Jayco)
2) Wout Van Aert (Belgium/Jumbo-Visma) +0:09
3) Primož Roglič (Slovenia/Jumbo-Visma) s.t.
25) Hugo Houle (Canada/Israel-Premier Tech) +6:34

2022 Paris-Nice GC
1) Primož Roglič (Slovenia/Jumbo-Visma) 29:19:15
2) Simon Yates (Great Britain/BikeExchange-Jayco) +0:29
3) Dani Martinez (Colombia/Ineos) +2:37
13) Hugo Houle (Canada/Israel-Premier Tech) +11:42