At 37 years old, Michael Woods proving age is just a number.
The Israel–Premier Tech rider had a fantastic summer, including a sensational
performance to win the 13th stage of this year’s Vuelta a España wearing his
national jersey, after he won Canadian national road race for the first time in
his career back in June.
Woods has been a successful sportsman throughout his life,
excelling not just in cycling but also in running. He made history as the first
man to both run a sub-four-minute mile and complete the Tour de France. In
2018, he came close to victory in one of cycling's toughest one-day races,
finishing second at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
However, in an interview with his team’s magazine, Yalla,
Woods opened up about the struggles he faced earlier this year. His form hit
rock bottom during the Giro d’Italia, where he had to abandon after just five
stages. It was an incredibly tough moment for Woods, who admitted he came close
to ending his career.
"Going into this year's Giro d'Italia, being at the
Giro, and the week or so after it were probably the darkest moments of my
cycling career. I really was starting to question if I was going to finish this
season, I was really contemplating retiring. I was not performing at the level
I wanted to be at," Woods confessed.
It wasn’t just poor form holding Woods back. After returning
to Canada for a period of rest, doctors discovered he was battling a bacterial
infection, which had been the root cause of his struggles. Bacterial infections
can severely impact an athlete’s performance, leading to fatigue, muscle
weakness, and an inability to recover after intense efforts—making it nearly
impossible to compete at the top level.
After receiving treatment, Woods’ comeback began at the
Canadian National Cycling Championships in June. Incredibly, he won the race,
an achievement that revived his spirits and marked the beginning of a brilliant
second half of the season.
"It was a huge confidence boost. I hadn't raced since
the Giro, and I hadn't felt good in a race since February. I felt like I was
hardly pedalling in the Nationals. That was a really nice sensation that got me
really hungry again," Woods shared.
That hunger led him to his impressive stage 13 win at the
Vuelta, his fourth career Vuelta stage victory, adding to the Tour de France
stage win he secured in 2023. For Michael Woods, this season has been a
testament to resilience, and his remarkable comeback shows that he's far from
finished in the world of professional cycling.
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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