After ten years in the WorldTour, Canadian Michael Woods is retiring from cycling. A career changer, Woods came to cycling via running. After a few years with a Continental team, Woods switched to the Cannondale - Drapac Pro Cycling Team for the 2016 season, after taking three victories in the previous year.
Late success
Woods really took off in 2018, finishing second at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, winning a stage at the Vuelta and taking bronze in the tough World Championship road race in Austria. A year later, Woods triumphed at Milan-Turin and impressed in 2020, particularly at the Tour of Spain. He recorded one stage win and two second places. In 2022 and 2023, the 36-year-old won the overall victory at the Route d'Occitanie and was able to fulfil his dream of winning a Tour stage in 2023. In the 2024 season, Michael Woods repeated his success at the Tour of Spain and won another stage.
Woods spoke at length about the end of his career in his blog. He cited the dangers of the sport and the strain on his health, as well as the sacrifices he had to make for his family, as the main reasons. Woods wants to remain faithful to endurance sports even after his career ends. However, he has not yet revealed in what form.
Leon Weidner
Working student
