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Hugo Houle | Canada's Next Star
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| dienblad |
Posted on 13-05-2013 17:53
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3709
Joined: 10-09-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Great to see you back, Valverde!!! Good luck.
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| baia |
Posted on 13-05-2013 18:32
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 5377
Joined: 04-10-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Welcome back Valverde 
I´m sure it will be another great story from you.
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 13-05-2013 20:54
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World Champion
Posts: 12429
Joined: 20-05-2009
PCM$: 530.00
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Thanks a lot all, glad you are enjoying it so far!
January 7th, 2013
Hello and welcome! I am enjoying my time in France a lot right now with the team, as we prepare for the start of the season. Its an added bonus that this time of year, the weather in France is much nicer than it is in North America, and I am having no trouble getting used to the language barrier that a lot of North Americans have thanks to growing up in Quebec and speaking french my whole life!
Speaking of the team, the teams website "stats guy" made a little picture of how we are rated and it looks like Im at the bottom of the team. Its fair though, because I haven't even had any real major results yet, and it motivates me to do even better.
The team leaders will be Nocentini, Hutarovich, Gadret and Peraud and I think overall we have a fairly good team, full of French climbers. Bagdonas and Domont both look like great young riders, as does Betancur and Bardet. I like everyone on the team so far and the team has some good riders for the future. I dont know if I'll even be a part of that, but for now Im happy to be where I am, on a World Tour team.
I also decided on a training schedule with my coaches and I think it will work out great for me!
I hope to do well at some of the Belgian classics in the first part of the year. Then I have focused on the National Championships, but unfortunately I will be missing the Tour de Beauce which isn't great because its one of my favourite races. After that I can focus on the Canadian PT Classics and hopefully get into the World Championships team. Other than the first 3 months of the year my schedule isn't set in stone, but I can show that to you now!
| Date | Race | Rank | Country | | 26/02/2013 | Kuurne Bruxelles Kuurne | 1.1 |  | | 28/02/2013 | Le Samyn | 1.1 | | | 03/03/2013 | Strade Bianche | 1.1 |  | | 14/03/2013 | Nokere Koerse | 1.1 | | | 16/03/2013 | Handzame Classic | 1.1 | | | 21/03/2013 | Dwars door van vlaanderen | 1.HC | | | 23/03/2013 | E3 Prijs Vlaanderen - Harelbeke | UWT | | | 25/03/2013 | Gent-Wevelgem | UWT | |
I think my schedule is exactly how I wanted it to be. I get to dip my feet into some World Tour racing and most of the racing this part of the year is to my specialty so I think I can perform well.
Goals for 1/4 of Season
 - Get a Top 10
- Support a teammate that wins the stage
- Get into 3 breakaways
Thanks for reading this edition! Stay tuned for my race reports,
Hugo
Edited by valverde321 on 13-05-2013 20:55
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| Jesleyh |
Posted on 13-05-2013 20:56
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World Champion
Posts: 14744
Joined: 21-07-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Why don't you use the stats update btw? Or did you start the story before that?
Anyway, team and calendar(and presentation) is nice, hope Hugo can achieve the goals!
Feyenoord(football) and Kelderman fanboy
PCMdaily Awards: 12x nomination, 9x runner-up, 0x win.
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 13-05-2013 20:57
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World Champion
Posts: 10231
Joined: 23-06-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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Hope for some Houle madness. |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 13-05-2013 21:00
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21379
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Great report and nice schedule. He'll be on top of those rankings in a few years |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 08-12-2025 12:05
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Bot Agent
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| NTTHRASH |
Posted on 13-05-2013 21:03
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3111
Joined: 09-09-2012
PCM$: 3840.00
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Does Hugo Houle drink bagged milk too? Just kidding! Good luck, and welcome back!
"America. Show a nipple on television and the whole country goes ape-shit." -DubbelDekker
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 13-05-2013 22:11
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World Champion
Posts: 12429
Joined: 20-05-2009
PCM$: 530.00
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@ Jesleyh - Didn't even notice it until after. Dont want to make the schedules again, so I'll just edit the main guys. I've made some changes myself already anyway.
@ all - thanks guys. Houle will hopefully do well.
@ NTTHRASH - He probably has before  Dont know if he will be able to in France. If not, that will surely be one of the things he misses the most Thanks.
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| fcancellara |
Posted on 13-05-2013 22:12
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4813
Joined: 18-08-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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Good luck!
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 13-05-2013 22:42
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7542
Joined: 11-04-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Looks awesome. Good luck with the first 1/4 of the season
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 13-05-2013 23:04
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34002
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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He has a nice looking schedule ahead of him |
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| alex344 |
Posted on 14-05-2013 00:33
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Stagiare
Posts: 150
Joined: 09-01-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Always nice to see a Valverde story. I did lurk though your Veillux story. Good luck and who knows maybe Hugo will win a race this season preferably the Canadian ones. |
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 14-05-2013 02:43
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World Champion
Posts: 12429
Joined: 20-05-2009
PCM$: 530.00
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Thanks Canc!
@ Jak - Thank you! Hugo will need it.
@ Sutty - Indeed. Im excited about it. The cobbles are a little out of his comfort zone, but the sprints and hills will suit him well.
@ alex - Great to hear!  I hope he can win something, even if its not Canadian, and I think the only Canadian races possible for PT teams are the 2 Classics which will be hard to win.
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| krisa |
Posted on 14-05-2013 05:33
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3892
Joined: 12-04-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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Good luck
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 14-05-2013 18:21
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World Champion
Posts: 12429
Joined: 20-05-2009
PCM$: 530.00
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Oomloop Het Nieuwsblad 2013
| 1 | Tom Boonen | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | 4h41'48 | | 2 | Fabian Cancellara | RadioShack - Leopard | + 22 | | 3 | Greg Van Avermaet | BMC Racing Team | + 51 | | 4 | Maarten Wynants | Blanco Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 5 | Niki Terpstra | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 6 | Thor Hushovd | BMC Racing Team | + 1'17 | | 7 | Matteo Tosatto | Team Saxo - Tinkoff | s.t. | | 8 | Juan Antonio Flecha | Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 9 | Sep Vanmarcke | Blanco Pro Cycling Team | + 1'46 | | 10 | Filippo Pozzato | Lampre - Merida | s.t. |
Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne 2013
February 26th, 2013
Its going to be a tough stage for me, so I hope to get used to the speed of the top teams really pushing on the cobbles. I hope to be able to stick with the main group for as long as possible. I may jump into the breakaway if I get the green light for the DS, but we'll have to see.
The breakaway settles into the race, about 20km after the start. The only real name of importance is Robbie Hunter for Garmin, but it wouldn't matter as the breakaway was brought back quite early compared to most races, around 50km to go.
As that happens, Bernhard Eisel makes an attack for Team Sky and he gains a minute advantage, as he pedals as hard as he can for a good 10km. A few attacks happen behind him, but no one can reach Eisel, until he is brought back by the chasing group of riders with about 25km to go.
AS we get into the barriers, about 10km to go, I have no hope of ever reaching the front again, and my lungs are screaming for air, so I decide to sit back a little. I just couldn't hold on like I hoped but Im still happy with the result of making it as far as I did in the lead group.
Up ahead its all about the riders with the best kick, as its clearly going to come down to a sprint finish.
And the winning move goes to Thor Hushovd, one of the best known riders during the classics season. This will be a good win for him, as he builds form for Paris Roubaix and RvV. Boom finishes strongly as well, but Hushovd just had too much power in the sprint today and made quite a gap back to the rest of the riders sprinting for the line! Steve Chainel followed the right wheels today and finished in the Top 10, a good result for the team! After this race, I'll be looking forward to my next races. Obviously my form isn't quite there yet, but I know I can still improve.
| 1 | Thor Hushovd | BMC Racing Team | 4h24'13 | | 2 | Lars Boom | Blanco Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 3 | Taylor Phinney | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 4 | Greg Van Avermaet | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 5 | Sep Vanmarcke | Blanco Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 6 | Matteo Tosatto | Team Saxo - Tinkoff | s.t. | | 7 | Steve Chainel | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 8 | Sylvain Chavanel | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 9 | Matti Breschel | Team Saxo - Tinkoff | s.t. | | 10 | Fabian Cancellara | RadioShack - Leopard | s.t. | | 11 | Tom Boonen | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 12 | Sébastien Turgot | Team Europcar | s.t. | | 13 | Niki Terpstra | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 14 | Maarten Wynants | Blanco Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 15 | Edvald Boasson Hagen | Sky Procycling | s.t. | | 16 | Danilo Hondo | RadioShack - Leopard | s.t. | | 17 | Karsten Kroon | Team Saxo - Tinkoff | s.t. | | 18 | Zdenek Stybar | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 19 | Jan Ghyselinck | Cofidis, Solutions Crédits | s.t. | | 20 | Hayden Roulston | RadioShack - Leopard | s.t. | | ... | | 86 | Hugo Houle | AG2R La Mondiale | +3'39 |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 14-05-2013 18:26
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21379
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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A nice race for Chainel there. Hugo is building form |
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 14-05-2013 18:51
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World Champion
Posts: 12429
Joined: 20-05-2009
PCM$: 530.00
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Ian Butler wrote:
A nice race for Chainel there. Hugo is building form
Indeed! It was a great sprint for him. He could have nearly gotten a top 5, it was really close!
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 14-05-2013 23:13
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World Champion
Posts: 12429
Joined: 20-05-2009
PCM$: 530.00
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Le Samyn
February 28th, 2013
Today is a little lumpier than KBK was and there are more cobblestones close to the finish, so I expect today to be a lot tougher racing than 2 days ago for me! We dont really have anyone with a huge shot at winning, so the breakaway is another possibility for me. Other than that, I will sit in the group and hope to help Mondory who may get us a result if we can bring it to a sprint.
We start the report off with the days breakaway, but like 2 days ago at KBK, they were brought back quite early for some reason and so when that happened there were a few significant attacks. The days main breakaway was out in front for the majority of the day but with 40km to go, they were wiped out.
Just as the final cobblestone section is crossed, Davy Commeyne and Damien Gaudin break away from the bunch and get a decent gap of 30 or so seconds, and hold the gap for a few kms. As we get under the 10km to go banner, the gap slowly goes down, about 5 seconds a km.
Sure enough, with 3.5km to go, the 2 are caught by the charging peloton, who are really making a dash for the line. No one looks like the real favourite right now and with a strong headwind they may have started too early. Mondory is following Guarnieri and he's leading him out basically to a win!
But with 500m left, Daniel Oss comes out of nowhere and just edges Mondory on the line to take a very exciting win! It is still a great result for Mondory, who will have gotten a great result for the team. Meanwhile, I sat comfortably in the pack, and then cracked and had to hold on for dear life at the back of the group which I did manage to do. All in all, I am just very happy the team was able to get a good result today, and like I said, my races wont be until later in the year. For now its time to build my form!
| 1 | Daniel Oss | BMC Racing Team | 4h30'27 | | 2 | Lloyd Mondory | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 3 | Taylor Phinney | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 4 | Jacopo Guarnieri | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 5 | Tom Leezer | Blanco Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 6 | Ian Stannard | Sky Procycling | s.t. | | 7 | Davy Commeyne | Accent Jobs - Wanty | s.t. | | 8 | Danilo Hondo | RadioShack - Leopard | s.t. | | 9 | Marcus Burghardt | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 10 | Tony Gallopin | RadioShack - Leopard | s.t. | | 11 | Hayden Roulston | RadioShack - Leopard | s.t. | | 12 | Dennis Van Winden | Blanco Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 13 | Lieuwe Westra | Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 14 | Andreas Klier | Garmin - Sharp | s.t. | | 15 | Moreno Hofland | Blanco Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | ... | | 78 | Hugo Houle | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. |
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| admirschleck |
Posted on 14-05-2013 23:21
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Team Leader
Posts: 6566
Joined: 11-10-2010
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Great that Hugo kept pelotons pace. Great podium from Lloyd!
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 14-05-2013 23:36
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7542
Joined: 11-04-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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So close for Mondary. Hugo is doing well in the cobbles. Keep it up
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