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Are Michael Woods Tour hopes done on Day 1?

Massive crash likely to cause change in focus for Canadian's road to Paris

Michael Woods 2021 Tour de France crash Photo by: Sirotti
June 26, 2021
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Michael Woods tour hopes may be over just as the soon as the race started. In a crash-marred opening stage, the Canadian escaped the first major event, which saw most of the peloton held up, unscathed.

Saturday’s second sizeable crash happened with just 7.6 km to go. This time, Woods was among the riders hitting the deck. While the first incident happened at 45 km to go, leaving enough time for the group to come back together, Israel Start-Up Nation wasn’t so lucky. Well under the 10-km to go mark, there was no waiting around after the second crash.

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Woods, as well as his Grand Tour mentor, Chris Froome, both lost significant time by the day’s end. At the finish, Woods had dropped 8:49 to race winner Julian Alaphilippe. Froome, who took much longer to pick himself up off the road, lost 14:37. Froome is headed to a hospital to check his injuries. Hopefully he will be able to continue racing, and advising Woods.

Chris Froome Israel Start-up Nation Tour de France
Chris Froome was slow to get off the tarmac on Saturday. His future at this Tour remains in question. Photo: Sirotti.

No GC opens up other opportunities

At nearly nine minutes down, Woods will be hard pressed to make up the gap to other teams’ GC favourites. The Canadian appears relatively uninjured, luckily. If Woods can continue his race, the end of his GC hopes opens up new opportunities. It should free the ISN rider to chase stage wins when the race enters more rolling and mountainous terrain. Where normally he would be marked by the other top riders, Woods may get more freedom to hunt for individual wins without threatening for the Tour de France podium.

Two very different crashes

Both of Saturday’s crashes were big, but they were of a very different nature. Woods’ crash was of the kind that is expected in the opening week of the Tour de France. Riders touched wheels in a crowded group causing the fall.

The first crash, though, was entirely preventable. A fan stepped out onto the road, facing away from the peloton and holding a sign for the camera. Tony Martin (Jumbo-Visma), with nowhere to go, collided with the fan from behind sending him cascading into his fellow riders.

After a year with few spectators, if any at races, Saturday’s crash is a startling reminder that fans share in the responsibility to keep riders safe. They are, after all, there to watch the race and not to disrupt it.

You can see the replay of the first crash, which took place with 45 km to go, below.