Michael Russell Woods (born 12 October 1986) is a Canadian

racing cyclist Cycle sport is Competition, competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing ...

, who rides for

UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road cycling, the UCI World Tour or UCI ProTour ...

and is the first person to break four minutes in the mile and complete the Tour de France.

Career

Athletics career

Woods' first sport was

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

and his childhood ambition was to play as a

left wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

. Prior to becoming a cyclist, Woods was a promising middle-distance runner, setting Canadian national junior records in the

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

and

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

in 2005, as well as taking the gold medal in the 1500 metres at the

2005 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships The 13th Pan American Junior Athletics Championships were held in Windsor, Ontario at the University of Windsor Stadium on July 29–31, 2005. Participation (unofficial) Detailed result lists can be found on the Athletics Canada, the CACAC, the ...

. However, he suffered a recurring

stress fracture A stress fracture is a fatigue-induced bone fracture caused by repeated stress over time. Instead of resulting from a single severe impact, stress fractures are the result of accumulated injury from repeated submaximal loading, such as running or ...

in his left foot, exacerbated by excessive training and racing, resulting in his running his last race in 2007. Woods underwent surgery twice in order to correct the problem without success. He took up cycling initially as

cross-training Cross-training is athletic training in sports other than the athlete's usual sport. The goal is improving overall performance. It takes advantage of the particular effectiveness of one training method to negate the shortcomings of another. In gen ...

before friends persuaded him to enter races. Woods was taught English at school by

Paul Dewar Paul Wilson Dewar (January 25, 1963 – February 6, 2019) was a Canadian educator and politician from Ottawa, Ontario. He was the New Democratic Party (NDP) Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Ottawa Centre. Dewar was first elected to ...

, who was later elected as a Member of Parliament. Woods attended the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

on a track athletic scholarship, graduating in 2008. Whilst at Michigan, he was coached by

Ron Warhurst Ron Warhurst (born c. 1943) is a former American track and field coach. He was the head coach of the University of Michigan's men's track and field team from 2000 to 2008. Warhurst was also a member of the cross country teams at Western Michigan ...

Cycling career

Woods began cycling professionally with in 2013. On 20 August 2015 it was announced that Woods would join for the 2016 cycling season. In 2016, Woods was officially named in Canada's 2016 Olympic team. Woods was also named in the start list for the

2017 Giro d'Italia The 2017 Giro d'Italia was the 100th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. The race started on 5 May in Alghero on the island of Sardinia, and ended on 28 May in Milan. The race was won by Tom Dumoulin, who became the ...

. 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. Woods was later named in the start list for the

2017 Vuelta a España The 2017 Vuelta a España was a three-week Grand Tour cycling stage race that took place in Spain between 19 August and 10 September 2017. The race was the 72nd edition of the Vuelta a España and the final Grand Tour of the 2017 cycling season. ...

where he finished his second Grand Tour in 7th place, taking one third-place finish and five top-tens. In 2018, Woods scored what he described as "the best result of my career" by finishing second in the

Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège, also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five ''Monuments'' of the European professional r ...

race. In September 2018, Woods won Stage 17 of the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the r ...

, which finished up a steep climb to Balcón de Bizkaia. On 30 September, Woods finished third in the road race at the

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and a mixed team relay. Events ...

in Innsbruck, Austria. It was the first medal for Canada at the World Championships since

Svein Tuft Svein Tuft (born May 9, 1977) is a Canadian former road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2005 and 2019 for the , , , and teams. Tuft was the winner of the 2006–07 UCI America Tour, and was a thirteen-time champion at the Canadia ...

's silver medal in the time trial in 2008, and their first medal in the road race since

Steve Bauer Steven Todd Bauer, MSM (born June 12, 1959) is a retired professional road bicycle racer from Canada. He won the first Olympic medal in road cycling for Canada and until 2022 he was the only Canadian to win an individual stage of the Tour de Fr ...

's bronze-medal performance in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

. In July 2019, he was named in the startlist for the

2019 Tour de France The 2019 Tour de France was the 106th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. The -long race consisted of 21 race stage, stages, starting in the Belgian capital of Brussels on 6 July, before movi ...

. In October 2019 he won the oldest classic race, the 100th edition of

Milano–Torino Milano–Torino is a semi classic European single day cycling race, between the northern Italian cities of Milan and Turin over a distance of 199 kilometres. The event was first run in 1876 making it the oldest classic race in the world. The ev ...

. In August 2020, it was announced that Woods was to join from the 2021 season, on a three-year contract. He represented Canada at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

and finished in fifth place in the men's individual road race.

Major results

;2013 : 9th Overall

Tour de Beauce Tour de Beauce is a men's elite professional road bicycle racing multi-day event held each June in the Beauce region of Quebec, Canada since 1986. It is the oldest stage-race in North America, and is a Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)-rated 2.2 ...

;2014 : 4th Road race, National Road Championships : 6th Overall

;2015 : 1st Clássica Loulé : 2nd Overall

Tour of Utah Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed b ...

::1st Stage 5 : 2nd

Philadelphia International Cycling Classic The Philadelphia International Championship was an annual bicycle race held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was described as "America's top international cycling classic, and one of the richest and most prestigious one day races outside of Euro ...

: 4th Overall

Tour of the Gila The Tour of the Gila is a cycling stage race for both men and women located in New Mexico, United States. It is sponsored by the component maker SRAM. The "Gila" began in 1987. Beginning in 2012, the men's Gila has been added to the UCI America ...

::1st Stage 5 : 10th Overall

Tour of Alberta The ATB Tour of Alberta was a Canadian bicycle stage race, which raced across the province of Alberta. It was sanctioned by Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and was part of the UCI America Tour. It was classified as a 2.1 race, making it one ...

::1st

Canadian rider classification ;2016 : 2nd

: 5th Overall

Tour Down Under The Tour Down Under (branded as the Santos Tour Down Under under a partnership arrangement) is a cycling race in and around Adelaide, South Australia, and is traditionally the opening event of the UCI World Tour and features all 19 UCI WorldTe ...

;2017 : 2nd

GP Miguel Induráin The Grand Prix Miguel Induráin ( es, Gran Premio Miguel Induráin), formerly the "Grand Prix Navarre" is a Spanish one-day road bicycle race. History The race was inaugurated in 1951, but was limited to local competition. It was rebranded after ...

: 7th Overall

: 9th

;2018 : 1st Stage 17

: 2nd

: 3rd

Road race,

: 4th

Giro dell'Emilia The Giro dell'Emilia is a late season road bicycle race held annually in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour, and since 2020 it's part of the UCI ProSeries calendar. The ...

: 4th

Tre Valli Varesine The Tre Valli Varesine is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Varese, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is usually the first and most important race of Trittico Lombardo, which c ...

: 9th Overall

;2019 : 1st

: 2nd

Japan Cup The is one of the most prestigious horse races in Japan. It is contested on the last Sunday of November, post time of 15:40 at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters (about miles) run under weight for age conditions with ...

: 3rd Overall

Herald Sun Tour The Herald Sun Tour is an Australian professional bicycle race held in Melbourne and provincial Victoria, sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The first tour was held in October 1952 as a six-day event. It is now held annually ...

::1st Stage 2 : 5th

Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia ( en, Tour of Lombardy), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five 'Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cy ...

: 5th

: 6th Overall

Volta a Catalunya The Volta a Catalunya (; en, Tour of Catalonia, es, Vuelta a Cataluña, link=no) is a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of three World Tour stage races in Spain, together with the Vuelta a España and the Tour of th ...

: 7th Overall

: 8th

Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal The Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal is a one-day professional bicycle road race held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Its first edition was held on September 12, 2010 as the final event in the 2010 UCI ProTour. The Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal ...

: 9th

Clásica de San Sebastián The Donostia-Donostia Klasikoa — Clásica San Sebastián-San Sebastián (San Sebastián Classic) is a one-day professional men's bicycle road race in northern Spain that has been held every summer since 1981 in San Sebastián. It is the mo ...

: 10th Overall

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. I ...

;2020 : 1st Stage 7

: 3rd

La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne (, French for "The Walloon Arrow") is a men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia, Belgium. The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is today normally held mid-week betw ...

: 7th

: 8th Overall

Tirreno–Adriatico Tirreno–Adriatico, nicknamed the "Race of the Two Seas", is an elite road cycling stage race in Italy, run between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic coasts. Traditionally held in the early part of the season, it is considered to be an important prep ...

::1st Stage 3 ;2021 : 2nd Overall Tour des Alpes-Maritimes et du Var ::1st Stage 2 : 3rd

: 4th

: 5th Road race,

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

: 5th Overall

::1st Stage 4 : 5th Overall

Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse ( en, Tour of Switzerland) is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France ...

::1st

Mountains classification : 5th Overall

Tour of Britain The Tour of Britain is a multi-stage cycling race, conducted on British roads, in which participants race across Great Britain to complete the race in the fastest time. The event dates back to the first British stage races held just after the S ...

: 5th

: 9th

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

::Held

after Stage 14 ;2022 : 1st Jersey orange

Overall

Route d'Occitanie The Route d'Occitanie is a road bicycle race with 4 stages held annually in Southern France. It was first held in 1977 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is usually held a week before the Tour de France ...

::1st Stage 3 : 2nd Overall O Gran Camiño ::1st Stage 2 : 2nd

Mercan'Tour Classic The Mercan'Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes is a French single-day road cycling race held in Valberg in the Alpes-Maritimes region of France. The race was supposed to be first held in 2020, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19. It is classified b ...

: 6th

: 10th

General classification results timeline

Classics results timeline

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, Michael 1986 births Living people Canadian male cyclists Canadian Vuelta a España stage winners Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2020 Summer Olympics People from East York, Toronto Sportspeople from Toronto Sportspeople from Ottawa University of Michigan alumni Olympic cyclists of Canada Hillcrest High School (Ottawa) alumni 20th-century Canadian people 21st-century Canadian people Cyclists from Ontario