From a broken leg to stage-race podiums
Was the 2020 road season Michael Woods's best season to date? That's something debated here at Canadian Cycling Magazine so it's an idea editor Matthew Pioro wanted to explore with Woods himself.
Despite breaking his leg in March, Woods had some great results when racing resumed in August. There was his stage win and two days in the leader's jersey at Tirreno-Adriatico, a stage win at the Vuelta a España and even a win at a virtual race. Woods and Pioro get into comparisons with his 2018 season, which was the previous high-water mark for the Ottawa rider.
There's also discussion of Woods’s evolving relationship with Alejandro Valverde, his new team for 2021, Israel Start-Up Nation and all the people who will be familiar to him at that outfit. And there’s his busted-leg buddy who’s quite an accomplished cyclist.
The interview took place in mid-November. Woods was at home recovering from an operation that saw the removal of four screws from his leg. Remember, he broke his femur badly at Paris-Nice. How badly? It was so bad, that he was seriously considering ending his cycling career. But it's good he didn't. Instead, he had a road season that right now really could be his best ever.