July 10/23 17:49 pm - Exclusive Interview - Mike Woods on Winning at the Tour

Posted by Editoress on 07/10/23
 

On Sunday, Michael Woods (Israel Premier Tech) became the third Canadian man in history to win a stage of the Tour de France. He did it on an iconic summit finish, the Puy de Dôme - read the stage report Here.

Today, on the first rest day of the Tour, we had a chance to chat with Mike about his win.

Canadian Cyclist: First of all, congratulations. We were watching, and on the edge of our seats wondering if you would manage to catch the leader - Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) - on that final climb.

Mike Woods: Thanks, it was pretty special.

CC: Being in the break - was that a planned strategy for you to be out in that break on that specific stage?

MW: Yes, definitely, that was 100% the plan. The goal was to get me in the break and, ideally, someone like Guillaume [Boivin, team mate] in there as well, to keep things calm and settled. We achieved that goal right off the bat; we were really motivated to do that right from the start and fought for position before the first attacks.

The break

CC: Then Jorgenson got away, quite a long way out, and at the base of the Puy, he had over two minutes. Were you worried at that point?

MW: Yes, definitely. Matteo is a super strong rider, and to give him a two minute margin on any climb is a big undertaking to try and bring back. I was worried, but at the same time I had Steve [Bauer, Directeur Sportif] in the car keeping me calm ... I wasn't sure if I would bring it back, but once I got to 4K to go, I just told myself to do a full effort and I'll do the best result I possibly can.

CC: In that last 4K you were making up time and picking off the riders who were ahead of you, like Neilson Powless (EF Education Easypost) and, eventually, at 1K to go, Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious), who was sitting second, 35 seconds behind Jorgenson. At that point, did you start to feel more confident that you had it in you to catch Jorgenson?

MW: I really didn't think I was going to get Matteo until about 800 metres to go. It was really nice to have those carrots dangling in front of me; I didn't just have Matteo to target, I had first off Mathieu Burgaudeau [TotalEnergies] and Neilson ahead of him, so I just focussed on them. And when I caught them, I refocussed on Matej, and then once I got past him, the next thing was to focus on Matteo. It was only at 800 metres that I thought I had a shot.

CC: You caught Matteo just past the 500 metre to go marker, and it looks like you almost sat up for a second or two and then attacked. Was it just a moment to take stock?

MW: My original plan was to hit him right when I got to him, but he heard me shift gears and looked back. So once he looked back, I wanted to take stock of where he was, and once I got a sense that he was going pretty slow, relative to what my pace was, I figured I should just try and do a probing attack; not go crazy hard, just because I knew the finish [14%] was going to be quite difficult. If he was able to counterattack, wait for then, but the probing attack was enough.

continues below photos

CC: So you are on your own, and there's no spectators, so there is no noise at all, and you've got about 450 metres to think about 'I'm going to win a stage of the Tour de France'. What was going through your mind?

MW: It was great, especially because Steve was on the radio ... just hearing them laughing, cheering on the radio was just super exciting, especially because ... at one point it [the win] was expected; I really believed I was going to win the race when I got in the breakaway, but then even with 4K to go I really believed the race win was completely out of reach. So to come back as hard as I did, as fast as I did and to all of a sudden to be in a place where I was winning after doubting that I would be close to winning, 500 - 600 metres earlier ... it was a real pinch myself moment. It was awesome.

CC: The early part of your season didn't have a lot of strong results, but then you started to come back, including the win at l'Occitane. At that point did you start to feel that your form was where you wanted it to be for the Tour?

MW: I had a really challenging start to the season with some health issues and some family health issues. So I wasn't really able to train as much as I would have liked, I wasn't able to be as present in cycling as I would have liked. I had to miss some races, but I did feel I was starting to get my feet under me by Catalunya; coming sixth there in the GC was a really good result for me. I didn't have a bad Ardennes Classics, fourth at Fleche Wallonne, but I was just off the mark from a positioning perspective at Liege.

But I really feel like I have upped my game this year, from a much rougher go the year previous; despite the results not really reflecting my level, I knew I was moving in the right direction. Going to do a training camp in Andorra at altitude with the team, and with Guillaume Boivin as my room mate; we just really motivated each other. And then just watching Derek Gee so well at the Giro just got me super motivated as well. I really hunkered down, and by the time l'Occitane, I knew I was in really good shape, and getting really fired up for this Tour.

CC: There are some huge names that have won on this climb - Coppi, Gimondi, Ocana, Bahamontes ....

MW: I feel honoured to be a part of that crowd. The last time the Tour did this [climb] was in 1988. Steve [Bauer] dropped off the podium on this stage last time they did it; he was sitting third and dropped down to fourth. Definitely an iconic climb. Actually, Johnny Weltz was the guy who won it [in 1988], and he was my team director the first year I was on Cannondale! It's neat to go down the list of winners and see those names, and to know that my name is on it as well.

CC: And you are only the third Canadian to win a Tour stage, joining Steve, your Directeur Sportif, and your team mate Hugo Houle. I know you have talked about how much winning a stage at the Tour was something you wanted to accomplish in your career.

MW: Yes, that has been a huge goal of mine. It was so special to see Hugo do it last year, but at the same time I wanted to be the second Canadian ... I was so happy for him and so proud of him, but there was still this lingering voice in my head saying 'you need to win one'. The pressure has only been mounting every year that I have done the Tour, so it is a huge relief to finally get that win.

CC: When we reported it on our social media, we got some of the strongest response and statistics that we have ever received - what's it been like for you since it happened?

MW: Oh, it's been wild. Really cool to see all the love, all the excitement ... but I'm also trying to not check my phone too much, just because I'm still focussed on the rest of this race. I still think there are opportunities to win. I'm just trying to keep a level head and not let this get too much to my head. It's an awesome win and I'm very proud, but it's not the be all and end all. There are other bigger things in this world - my kids, my family. I just want to continue to have success, but also go home and spend time with those guys.

CC: This is only the first rest day, and this seems to have been a particularly hard and fast first week. What are you looking for going forward? You are back up to 22nd in GC; are there thoughts of trying to improve that, or are you and the team still looking for potential stage wins?

MW: Definitely I'm not thinking of the GC. I was thinking of the GC at the start of this race, but I had a really bad day on the Tourmalet - I messed up my fuelling on the two easier days, I didn't fuel enough and it caught me off-guard on the Tourmalet. This race has been a race of extremes, where it's been super hard or super easy. So much so, that it's something I'm not used to, and I think that's why I under-fuelled. In the end, it was a blessing in disguise; the stage win was the biggest priority for me, and I was able to get it.

Now, going forward ... my goal isn't to finish tenth at the Tour; I think really only a podium is better than a stage win at the Tour, and that [podium] is out of the realm of possibilities at this moment. So the big focus now is to get another stage, and the best part is, that this [win] is already a big success for me at this Tour. If I finish in Paris with nothing else, I'll still be ecstatic. That gives me a bit more freedom, a bit less pressure, and the same goes for the rest of the team. I think the big goal is just more stage wins, and now that the pressure is off, I think we have more room to succeed.