Michael Woods once again won the queen stage of La Route d'Occitanie. The Candian rider thus continues in 2022 fashion, when he won the decisive stage by over a minute. This time, his competitors are much closer to the Israel - Premier Tech rider, especially Cristián Rodríguez who is only ten seconds behind.
"It's certainly a race that I like a lot, in a corner of the world that I know well. I live in Andorra, it's not very far from here. I often train here and I like this region so for me, it's really a great experience to do well here," said Woods after the race.
Despite knowing the region well, Woods admits to have never ridden up Nistos-Cap-Nestès before. "It was the first time that I did the final climb, so yes I attacked a little too early in my opinion. But the stage was tough today, so I knew that if I attacked early, only two or three riders were going to be able to follow. Only Rodríguez was there and I knew I could beat him in the sprint. So I just kept my strength for the last 200m."
The 35-year old's team will now have to defend the leader's jersey in the final stage, but Woods is unafraid. "No, it won't be difficult to control, I think we have a very strong team. As we saw today, Stephen Williams was very strong, and we also have Corbin Strong who rides very well. I hope we can set things up for him tomorrow."
🎙️ "The teamwork was exceptional. Especially Stevie Williams was just amazing. I think he went extra deep for his friend Gino Mäder and it was really inspirational." 📰 Read all about Woodsy's big win today right here: israelpremiertech.com/michael-woods-… ___ 🇫🇷 #RDO2023
