Hugo Houle will not have the opportunity to compete in his third Olympic Games in his adopted country.
The 33-year-old athlete learned with some resignation that he was not one of the two candidates selected for the road cycling events in Paris on June 5. Veteran Michael Woods and new sensation Derek Gee will be the two male representatives for Canada.
“It’s certain that I would have liked to be part of the Olympic Games,” Houle said at midday on Wednesday. It remains an important event, especially since it takes place in Paris. The selection was not easy, even more so with the recent performances of Derek Gee. He is younger too, so that can give him an opportunity [for the future]. Mike did well in Tokyo. He definitely wanted to go to the Games to perform. It made for a difficult selection. »
Houle was the first to admit not having been up to par this spring. “I wasn’t at my level,” he admitted at the beginning of the month. There is nothing to say about that. »
He still retained hope of playing his third Olympics after those of Rio in 2016 and Tokyo in 2021. His three compatriots who had the qualities to be chosen, Woods, Gee and Guillaume Boivin, teammates at Israel-Premier Tech, did not participate. Were not shown much more to their advantage this year, mainly due to falls or health problems.
Houle, who was the subject of an Olympic documentary broadcast by Radio-Canada on Friday, believed he had the ideal profile to play one of the two roles defined in Cycling Canada’s (CC) selection policy. “Assuming you put a leader and a teammate, I sure thought I had a good chance as a teammate. It’s still my specialty. »
Ultimately, Woods, who finished fifth in the Tokyo road race, was chosen as the duo’s “team leader.” Gee was designated a “support rider and reserve team leader.” He will definitely race the time trial on July 27, the day after the opening ceremony.
“In theory, they said Mike is the leader,” Houle noted. So Derek should be there to support him. This is for selection purposes. I don’t know what the real race strategy will be. »
In May, Woods abandoned the Giro the day after falling on stage five. The Ottawa climber already felt diminished by health problems which caused him to miss the Ardennes classics a month earlier. The 37-year-old runner even considered retirement, before discovering that he was affected by a mysterious virus that he believes he contracted in South Africa, Radio-Canada revealed on June 6.
His solo stage victory at the Tour de France last summer could hardly be ignored by the selectors. Woods will compete in the Canadian Championships road race in Saint-Georges on Saturday, where he will try to win his first maple leaf jersey.
A big star of the 2023 Giro, Gee, also from Ottawa, fractured a collarbone and a hand, in addition to suffering a concussion in a fall in competition on February 24. On June 4, he won the third stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné, the last preparatory event for the Tour de France, which he finished third overall.
However, these exploits occurred just after the period considered for selection. “We have a lot of other data,” however, indicated the director of high performance services at the Canadian federation, Kris Westwood.
Gee therefore learned that he would participate in his second Olympics the day after his stage success in Dauphiné, where he received congratulations from Houle, chosen as first substitute. Boivin is the second. Gee was a key driver of Canada’s fifth-place finish in the team pursuit in Tokyo.
“I accept the decision, there is no frustration on my side,” assured Houle. It’s part of the game. We’re all riders on the same team. The selection is what it is, there is not much to discuss. It’s a sport where there are criteria. It’s subjective. It’s not about whether one or the other is better. It’s more a question of the strategy that Cycling Canada has decided to put in place. »
To achieve gender parity, the men’s peloton for the Paris Olympics has been reduced to 90 riders, with a maximum of 4 starters from the five main nations, which risks creating a very unique scenario. The women’s peloton increased from 62 to 90. According to Le Journal de Québec, the first to announce Houle’s absence, Quebecer Olivia Baril and Albertan Alison Jackson will be the two Canadian representatives. The official selection is to be revealed by the Canadian Olympic Committee on June 25.
Houle is completing an altitude training course at Isola 2000, in the Maritime Alps, in preparation for the Tour de France, which he is due to compete in for the sixth time from June 29.
