Michael Woods

Climbing star Michael Woods, born October 12, 1986 in Toronto, Canada, turned professional in 2013 at the age of 26 with a Continental team Quebec after making a switch from middle-distance running following a series of injuries. 

He claimed his first major result with a stage 5 victory at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah in 2015 with Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies, his fourth Continental team across four seasons. He called that uphill win in Salt Lake City one that “certainly changed my cycling career and my life”.

Woods then moved into the WorldTour the next year with the Slipstream team Cannondale, where he rode for the next five seasons. In 2016 he finished fifth overall at Santos Tour Down Under and second at Milano-Torino. He claimed his first GC top 10 placing in a Grand Tour with seventh in the 2017 Vuelta a España, finishing third on a mountaintop finish too Alto de Puig Llorença on stage 9.

In 2018, he clinched a second place in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, third in the Road World Championships and his first-ever Grand Tour stage win, a summit finish in the Vuelta at the Balcon de Bizkaia. In 2019 he finished his first Tour de France, without much fanfare, and later scored a victory in the Italian autumn Classic Milano-Torino and was second at Giro dell’Emilia. The Canadian followed that in 2020 with a stage in Tirreno-Adriatico, another stage win in the Vuelta and third at La Flèche Wallonne.

In 2021, his first year with Israel Start-Up Nation, he enjoyed one of his best seasons yet, winning stages at the Tour du Var and Tour de Romandie. He also managed to find his way into the top five at La Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Tour de Suisse, the Tour of Britain and the Tokyo Olympics road race.

In 2022 he claimed his first-ever stage race overall, the Route d'Occitanie in France, and returned to defend his title the next season. 

Crashes and injuries have marred three Tour de France performances, but in 2023 he broke onto the winner’s spot atop the mythical ascent to Puy de Dôme.

Key Results
2023

🥇 Stage win at Tour de France

🥇 One stage and GC at La Route d'Occitanie

🥈 CIC - Mont Ventoux

2022

🥇 One stage and GC at La Route d'Occitanie

🥇 One stage at Gran Camiño

🥈 Mercan'Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes

🥈 GC, points classification and mountains classification at Gran Camiño

2021

🥇 One stage of Tour de Romandie

🥇 Mountains classification at Tour de Suisse

🥇 One stage at Tour des Alpes Maritimes

🥈 GC and points classification at Tour des Alpes Maritimes

🥉 Giro dell’Emilia

🥉 One stage at Tour de France

Fifth Olympic Games road race

2020

🥇 One stage at Vuelta a España

🥇 One stage of Tirreno-Adriatico

🥈 Two stages at Vuelta a España

🥉 La Flèche Wallonne

2019

🥇 Milano-Torino

🥈 Giro dell'Emilia

🥉 GC at Herald Sun Tour

2018

🥇 One stage at Vuelta a España

🥈 Liège - Bastogne - Liège

🥈 One stage at Giro d’Italia

🥉 World Championships road race

2017

🥈 Gran Premio Miguel Indurain

🥉 One stage at Vuelta a España 

2016
🥇 One stage at Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah

🥈 Milano-Torino

🥈 One stage and GC at Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah