Why Michael Woods is racing the Tour of Britain for the first time

Michael Woods had a really busy July. Like, really busy. By the time Canada Day rolled around, he was already five stages and one crash into the Tour de France. He left la Grande Boucle after Stage 18 to prepare for the Olympic road race in Tokyo on July 24. At that time, he had two races, of sorts, going on. Woods’s wife, Elly, who was at their home in Andorra, was on the verge of giving birth to their second child. Michael was conflicted. Although he was focused on an Olympic medal, which has been a goal of his for much of his life, he was frustrated, even angry, with the prospect of missing the birth.

Woods faced terrific heat and competition in the Tokyo road race. On the final major climb, Mikuni Pass, he got away from the group with Tadej Pogačar and Brandon McNulty. Woods was happy with the move at first. Like the trio that include Woods, Alejandro Valverde, Romain Bardet at the finale of the world championships in Innsbruck, Austria in 2018, Woods hoped his group in Tokyo would go to the line. But it didn’t hold. Richard Carapaz won. Woods was fifth. Three days later, Woods was back in Andorra in time to welcome his son, William “Willy” Woods, into the world.

With the Tour, Olympics and new baby, Woods’s regular race schedule was not going to happen. So, the Tour of Britain came into the picture. “I’m really excited to do the Tour of Britain,” he says. “I’ve never done it and I likely won’t do it again because it always falls on either the Vuelta or Montreal and Quebec. This year I’m not doing the Vuelta because of the Olympics and the birth of my son. If I don’t do the Vuelta, I normally do Montreal and Quebec but they are not in the cards this year.” The Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal, which had been fixtures on the WorldTour calendar since 2010, have been hurt more by the pandemic than European races. This year marks their second consecutive cancellation. Woods has raced them five times. In 2019, he was sixth in both Quebec and Montreal.

Later this season, Woods’s race schedule will look more familiar: Giro dell’Emilia, Tre Valli Varesine, Milano-Torino and Il Lombardia. Woods won Milano-Torino in 2019. “My motivation is high. The season has been long, but I feel like I’ve finally come around after a nice block of altitude here in Andorra,” he says.

In August, Woods was building dad watts as he juggled training rides and caring for his eldest daughter Maxine, as well as Willy. “I get the kids ready for daycare, get on the bike, ride for six hours, and then it’s back home to take care of the kids. I’m not messing around,” he says. “It does make the coffee shop stops on my rides fewer and farther between.”