Michael Woods reveals darkest moment in 2024: “I was really contemplating retiring”

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.