Michael Woods (cyclist)

Michael Woods
Personal information
Born (1986-10-12) 12 October 1986
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight 64 kg (141 lb)[1]
Team information
Current team EF Education First–Drapac p/b Cannondale
Discipline Road
Role Rider
Rider type Climber
Amateur team(s)
2012 Stevens Racing[2]
Professional team(s)
2013 Garneau-Québecor[3]
Jan 2014-June 2014 Amore & Vita–Selle SMP[3]
July 2014-Dec 2014 5-Hour Energy[3]
2015 Optum–Kelly Benefit Strategies
2016– Cannondale
Major wins

Grand Tours

Vuelta a España
1 individual stage (2018)

Michael "Mike"[4] Woods (born 12 October 1986) is a Canadian racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI World Tour team EF Education First–Drapac p/b Cannondale.[5]

Career

Athletics career

Woods' first sport was ice hockey and his childhood ambition was to play as a left wing for the Toronto Maple Leafs.[1] Prior to becoming a cyclist, Woods was a promising middle-distance runner, setting Canadian national junior records in the mile and 3000 metres in 2005, as well as taking the gold medal in the 1500 metres at the 2005 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships.[2] However, he suffered a recurring stress fracture in his left foot, exacerbated by excessive training and racing, resulting in him running his last race in 2007.[2][6] Woods underwent surgery twice in order to correct the problem without success. He took up cycling initially as cross-training before friends persuaded him to enter races.[2]

Woods was taught English at school by Paul Dewar, who was later elected as a Member of Parliament.[1] Woods attended the University of Michigan on a track athletic scholarship, graduating in 2008.[2] Whilst at UoM he was coached by Ron Warhurst.[7]

Cycling career

Woods began cycling professionally with Garneau-Quebecor in 2013.[8]

On 20 August 2015 it was announced that Woods would join Cannondale for the 2016 cycling season.[9]

In 2016, Woods was officially named in Canada's 2016 Olympic team.[10] Woods was also named in the start list for the 2017 Giro d'Italia.[11] He finished the 2017 Giro, his first grand tour, in 38th place, taking two fifth-place stage finishes along the way and helping teammate Pierre Rolland to win a stage.[12] Woods was later named in the start list for the 2017 Vuelta a España where he finished his second Grand Tour in 7th place, taking one third-place finish and five top-tens.[13]

In 2018, Woods scored what he described as "the best result of my career" by finishing second in the Liège–Bastogne–Liège race.[14] In September 2018, Woods won Stage 17 of the Vuelta a España, which finished up a steep climb to Balcón de Bizkaia.[15] On September 30, Woods finished 3rd at UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race in Innsbruck, Austria; the first Canadian Elite Men podium finish since Steve Bauer's bronze-medal performance in 1984.[16]

Career achievements

Major results

2013
9th Overall Tour de Beauce
2014
4th Road race, National Road Championships
6th Overall Tour de Beauce
2015
1st Clássica Loulé
2nd Overall Tour of Utah
1st Stage 5
2nd Philly Cycling Classic
4th Overall Tour of the Gila
1st Stage 5
10th Overall Tour of Alberta
1st Canadian rider classification
2016
2nd Milano–Torino
5th Overall Tour Down Under
2017
2nd GP Miguel Indurain
7th Overall Vuelta a España
9th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
2018
1st Stage 17 Vuelta a España
2nd Liège–Bastogne–Liège
3rd Road race, UCI Road World Championships
4th Giro dell'Emilia
4th Tre Valli Varesine
9th Overall Tour of Utah

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Grand Tour general classification results timeline
Grand Tour 2016 2017 2018
A pink jersey Giro d'Italia — 38 19
A yellow jersey Tour de France — — —
A red jersey Vuelta a España — 7 34
Major stage race general classification results timeline
Race 2016 2017 2018
Paris–Nice — 54 —
Tirreno–Adriatico — — —
Volta a Catalunya 18 37 79
Tour of the Basque Country 53 12 29
Tour de Romandie — — —
Critérium du Dauphiné — — —
Tour de Suisse — 26 —

Classics results timeline

Monument 2016 2017 2018
Milan–San Remo — — —
Tour of Flanders — — —
Paris–Roubaix — — —
Liège–Bastogne–Liège — 9 2
Giro di Lombardia 31 — 13
Classic 2016 2017 2018
Amstel Gold Race — — 20
La Flèche Wallonne 12 11 33
Clásica de San Sebastián 61 — —
Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec 27 — —
Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal 30 — —
Legend
— Did not compete
DNF Did not finish

References

  1. 1 2 3 Woods, Michael (13 October 2015). "Michael Woods: Letting the ink dry". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Holder, Gord (28 August 2013). "Profile: Ottawa's Mike Woods' journey from runner to racing in the Tour of Alberta". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Michael Woods at Cycling Archives
  4. ↑ "Hillcrest High School". Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  5. ↑ "Michael Woods". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  6. ↑ Malach, Pat (3 March 2015). "Michael Woods: Turning running heartbreak into cycling success". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  7. ↑ Woods, Michael (1 January 2016). "Michael Woods: Alone on a mountain top". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "Canadian cyclist Michael Woods among top 10 at Vuelta". Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  9. ↑ "Cannondale-Garmin announces Mike Woods, former runner-turned-pro-cyclist, to join team in 2016". Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  10. ↑ Tozer, Jamie (29 June 2016). "Returning Olympians highlight Canada's cycling team". www.olympic.ca. Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  11. ↑ "2017: 100th Giro d'Italia: Start List". Pro Cycling Stats. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  12. ↑ "A sub-4-minute miler at age 18, Rusty Woods is now lighting up pro cycling at age 30". Business Insider. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  13. ↑ http://www.procyclingstats.com/rider/michael-woods
  14. ↑ Ryan, Barry (22 April 2018). "Jungels wins Liege-Bastogne-Liege". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  15. ↑ "Vuelta a Espana 2018: Simon Yates maintains overall classification lead". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  16. ↑ "Mike Woods achieves rare Canadian cycling feat at road race worlds". CBC Sports. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
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