Every day is different, every day is special, and yet every day has the same elements: less than a decade ago, Hugo Uhl lost his brother Pierrick in a hit-and-run accident in his native village of Sainte-Perpétu, halfway between Montreal and Quebec. Grief has been a constant companion ever since.

Grief inevitably followed Yule's solo victory on Tuesday afternoon in Foix on stage 16 of the Tour de France. It was his first professional victory and Canada's first stage win since Steve Bauer in 1988, and it was dedicated to Pierrick's memory.

"He was two years younger than me and my biggest fan. 'When I finished fourth in the 2012 Under 23 World Championships, he sent me a video congratulating me. After the day I lost him, I had no one to share that with. There was a gap. Of course, when something like this happens in your life, it takes a few months to move on."

Pierrick Uhl was a triathlete as a teenager, competing like his brother, and one night at age 19, Pierrick went for a run and was hit by a car that drove away from him and never returned. Hugo Uhl endured the grief of that loss, as well as the deep trauma of searching for his brother on a December night with his family.

"That man left my brother on the side of the road and ran away. My family and I had to look for my brother. About three hours later we found him dead. 'When I got to the scene, I was giving him cardiac massage. When I took his hand, I saw that he was dead, with blood running from his ears and mouth."

A few weeks later, Houle flew to France to begin his World Tour career at AG2R La Mondiale. During his first months as a professional, his presence was more physical than mental, and it showed in his results. Any other team might have sent him packing, but Vincent Lavenu was always proud to be his father. Houle was given time to find his way again, both as a grieving young man and as a budding cyclist.

"I remember Paris-Roubaix. It took me a year to regain normalcy. 'This team took incredible care of me. I was a young professional and they could have said, 'Next time. It took me a few years to get back to a good level, but they gave me a lot of time to recover from that. I am where I am today because they gave me time to recover from my brother's death."

Houle spent five years in AG2R and four years in Astana, gradually finding his place in the World Tour peloton. At the end of last season he moved from Astana to Premier Tech, and then to Israel Premier Tech, along with a Canadian sponsor. The owner of Foure's new team, Sylvain Adams, is from Montreal. Steve Bauer, the greatest cyclist in Canadian history, is his director sportif, and current Canadian guru Michael Woods is his teammate.

Foure shared Tuesday's break with Woods, and his compatriot finished third in the stage, completing a remarkable afternoon for Canadian cycling. As Foure made his move to win before the final climb to Mûr de Péguerre, Woods policed a break that split behind him and chased Matteo Jorgensen on the summit. Jorgensen's fall ended any faint prospect of Foure being caught, and the Quebec native reassured himself in the last kilometer by listening to 1988 Macaque-Coeur winner Bauer on his radio earpiece.

"I hadn't seen my parents and family in a year. I had to race in Europe and my motivation was to win a stage in the Tour.

"I'm happy to win for the Canadians and I'm also happy to have Steve Bauer behind me on the bike. He was on the radio saying, 'Have fun, have fun. I was still running on full throttle, and he said, 'Well, I'm glad you had time to have fun. I'm glad I had time to enjoy it. I hope it doesn't take 34 years for another Canadian to win on the Tour."

Foure was alone at the front of the Mules de Péguerre, but he was not without company. The memory of his brother Pierrick was with him in the fall to Foix. It was a day like any other, at least in that sense. Winning for my brother, that was my motivation. And today I did it."