Vuelta stage winner Woods to retire at end of season
Caption: Michael Woods in action during stage 16 as spectators cheer. Photo: REUTERS
Canadian Michael "Rusty" Woods, a former stage winner at the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana, has announced he will retire from professional road cycling at the end of the season, bringing to a close a career spanning over a decade.
The 38-year-old, who made history as the first athlete to both run a sub-four-minute mile and complete the Tour de France, leaves the sport after claiming an individual stage victory at the 2023 Tour de France and with three stage wins at the Vuelta a Espana, the most recent of which came last year.
"Every aspect of my life has been examined and studied to maximize my ability to ride a bike. That all-encompassing pursuit I have loved and have no regrets doing, but it is something that can only be sustained for so long.
"Considering I started this sport at 25 years old, on $1,000 bike gifted to me by my parents, knowing nothing about it, is insane. I thought, 'I was once one of the best runners in the world—why can't I be one of the best cyclists in the world?'"
Woods, who won bronze at the World Championships in 2018, said he still has ambitions in endurance sports.
"As they say, though, all good things must come to an end... I have made the decision to retire from professional road cycling at the end of this season," he added.