June 06, 2018 (Belleville en Beaujolais, France) – Canada featured well on Stage 2 of the Critérium du Dauphiné in Belleville en Beaujolais as Antoine Duchesne (Can) Groupama-FDJ was an early 4-rider break that had a 6:40 lead at one point but were eventually caught.

Fellow Canuck Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team finished with the leaders ending up 14th as Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe took the win. Duchesne was 77th and is 37th overall while Houle is 65th overall.

“It’s a stage with a lot of ribs in the end and the road is tortuous, so these are days that can be difficult to control for a platoon. Today (Tuesday) was the only day I could play anything. Unfortunately, I was not strong enough,” commented Duchesne in a Sportcom interview.

“In the end, two of us did not believe enough. The peloton was right behind us and we sat up telling ourselves that it was no longer useful. The Kazakh (Stalnov) continued on alone and was caught at one kilometer from the finish. There were less people than we thought in the pack and it was not rolling so fast behind. So maybe we had a chance at the end. I’m a little angry with myself as I stopped believing, but the lesson is to always believe it. “

Results
1. Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 4:19:57
2. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data
3. Daryl Impey (Rsa) Mitchelton-Scott
4. Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
5. Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Lotto Soudal
6. Julien Simon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
7. Dion Smith (Nzl) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
8. Patrick Bevin (Nzl) BMC Racing Team
9. Toms Skujins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
10. Romain Hardy (Fra) Fortuneo-Oscaro

14. Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team
77. Antoine Duchesne (Can) Groupama-FDJ

GC after Stage 2
1. Daryl Impey (Rsa) Mitchelton-Scott 8:51:46
2. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky 0:00:02
3. Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky 0:00:05
4. Bob Jungels (Lux) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:09
5. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:10
6. Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:11
7. Jonathan Castroviejo (Esp) Team Sky
8. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:00:13
9. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data 0:00:14
10. Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:00:17

37. Antoine Duchesne (Can) Groupama-FDJ 0:31
65. Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team 1:44