"I said, 'Why not? Let's try it and played my cards well" - Hugo Houle ends Arctic Race of Norway with second position in GC

The Arctic Race of Norway concluded on Sunday with Andreas Leknessund’s victory. Hugo Houle secured the second position in GC, 8 seconds behind Leknessund.

"If you would've told me I would finish second, I would've signed up for it at the beginning of the race," Houle told Cyclingnews. He continues, "I'm really happy with the way I rode, especially today. It was really tight on the GC, with the bonifications being key. I saw an opportunity to attack on the second climb and I decided to go up the road. I saw everyone was looking at each other and then just tried it. We had three Alpecin-Deceuninck guys, they started to pull. I said, 'Why not? Let's try it and played my cards well.

Leknessund took everyone by surprise when he held his lead for more than 60 kilometers. Houle believes he could have won the GC if Leknessund had not led the breakaway. "The rest of the favorites couldn't catch up with us, and had the break stayed together. I'd probably have won the GC. I'm happy with how we rode. We raced aggressively as a team; everyone was good, I've finished second, and I'm happy," Houle said.

Houle said he was satisfied with his performance in the tour, and after a long time, he is going back home to relax. "I'm also really happy with how I raced this week. We had a good week. We showed up to race, we did a good show today and raced aggressively.Really excited to go home and for sure, I will train hard and do what I have to do. I cannot promise that I will go as good as in the Tour, but we will see," concluded Houle.