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RACE: Tour de France stage 9, Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat › Puy de Dôme
DATE: Sunday 9 July
The traditional Tour de France end gantry was not in place. The Panoramique des Dômes prepare line changed the standard throng of passionate followers alongside the roadside. The race’s slick podium was scaled right down to the naked fundamentals. Nonetheless, the prize on provide close to the summit of the Puy de Dôme when the world’s greatest cycle race returned to the UNESCO World Heritage Web site remained unchanged and misplaced none of its status.
With simply 800 metres of the 182.4-kilometre ninth stage remaining, Michael Woods started to grasp that the potential for changing into the rider who would declare the fitting to expertise probably the most uncommon of Tour finishes to the fullest could possibly be him. Catching lone chief Matteo Jorgensen earlier than the end line, he concluded, was potential. “I knew I had a shot as a result of I noticed him actually beginning to fade,” mentioned the Canadian.
Woods’ palmarès isn’t missing in spectacular victories. Vuelta a España victories atop Balcón de Bizkaia (2018) and at Villanueva de Valdegovia (2020) stand out, accompanied by different WorldTour triumphs at Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour de Romandie. After a frantic day of racing within the Haute-Vienne and Auvergne, this checklist of achievements was about to achieve a memorable addition.
He couldn’t have paced his ascent of the Puy de Dôme any higher. Having began the 12.6-kilometre climb practically two minutes behind Jorgensen, the catch was made 500 metres out from the road. Earlier than lengthy, the IPT rider raced into the gap and solely eased off his cadence in sight of the makeshift end line.
Aged 36, Woods had lastly triumphed on the Tour de France. “Successful a stage within the Tour is one thing I’ve at all times wished to do, and talked about doing, however it’s by no means one thing I’ve achieved,” he mentioned. “I lastly did it at present.”
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