Michael Woods says he’s decided to proper a couple of wrongs on the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal after being left upset in his efficiency final day out.
Woods completed fifteenth behind final yr’s winner Adam Yates, however stated his current stage win on the Vuelta a España gave him an enormous quantity of confidence that he would make a major enchancment on final yr’s exhibiting on Sunday.
Carrying his Canadian nationwide champion’s equipment, Woods met with reporters in Montréal on Saturday afternoon forward of lining as much as face the likes of Tadej Pogačar on the Parc du Mont-Royal circuit.
Woods stated that he had given little thought to the Slovenian’s presence and defined that it could not imply that he would majorly modify his race technique.
“In some senses, he is an issue, however in different senses, he makes the race actually easy and simple,” Woods stated. “It is not an advanced race tomorrow. It is tremendous difficult within the sense that it is simply demanding from a bodily perspective.
“And with Pogačar being there, you may virtually assure that UAE are simply going to make the race tremendous arduous, as a result of that is one of the simplest ways for him to win. After which for me, it simply makes my life each very easy and actually arduous. Simple within the sense of ways, and really arduous within the sense of simply having to execute a plan.”
“Final yr I used to be a bit upset with my efficiency,” he added. “It was an ideal race for me within the sense that it was actually arduous, actually demanding, and it was such an attritional race, particularly with the additional lap. I simply bear in mind feeling very upset and upset with my efficiency, not having the ability to be up there with Adam Yates and Pavel Sivakov.
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“I believe we made some errors that day, we rode an excessive amount of on the entrance, too early, and that price us a bit, and I simply wasn’t ok. I did not have any actual race days previous to Montréal final yr, whereas I’ve received the Vuelta beneath my belt now. I believe that is actually going to assist me for this race.”
Montréal is already gearing up for the return of the World Championships in 2026. Woods shall be 39-years-old by the point biking’s showpiece occasion returns to his homeland. Nonetheless, he didn’t rule out extending his profession with a purpose to race for his nation on considered one of biking’s most well-known circuits outdoors of Europe.
“In case you requested me three, 4 months in the past, I might say positively not,” he stated. “That’s simply with the sickness that I had in the beginning of the yr, I had this bacterial an infection that we could not determine till Could.
“Throughout that interval, I actually thought that I used to be simply getting previous, and my efficiency was sliding. At that second, I used to be pondering that I positively would not go until 2026. Now that I am doing nicely, and I am feeling good, I actually wish to do subsequent yr, after which I will decide after that for 2026.”
Full particulars of the 2026 street race course usually are not but identified, however the route is prone to be much like that of the GP Montréal. Aided by the 2 Canadian WorldTour races, Woods stated that biking is constant to develop in reputation within the metropolis.
“Montréal generally is only a nice sporting metropolis,” Woods stated. “They’ve so many nice occasions. After which additionally the course itself shall be actually, actually arduous I think about. I have not seen the precise particulars of the course, but when it is something like this circuit, a worthy champion shall be made.”
