Olympic Cycling Updates: Woods Narrowly Misses Podium in Road Race
7/24/2021 7:42:00 AM | Men's Track & Field, Olympics
• Tokyo Olympics Site | U-M Olympics Coverage
Saturday, July 24
Men's Road Race
A grueling 145.4-mile race with more than three miles of accumulated upward elevation change came down to fractions of a second as former Michigan track and field runner Mike Woods of Canada placed fifth in the men's cycling road race on Saturday (July 24). One minute and seven seconds after Ecuadorian gold medalist Richard Carapace crossed the line, Woods was part of a group of eight men who covered the final 200 meters on the Fuji International Speedway racetrack in an all-out sprint, but he came up just meters shy of the medals. All eight were given finishing times of six hours, six minutes and 33 seconds.
Woods, who was an intermediate leader in this month's Tour de France climbing classification, was one of the field's strongest riders on the final big climb at Mikuni Pass -- a four-mile stretch that saw the riders gain nearly half a mile in elevation change. He was part of a three-man lead group over the final peaks and briefly led the race with less than 20 miles to go. He was ultimately caught by the chase pack but was riding third overall with four miles to go and moved up to second at times as he battled within a chase pack of seven men.
The chase group steadied itself in the closing mile and slowed to a crawl with less than half a mile left in preparation for the final sprint, which launched with 200 meters to go. Woods initially got boxed in, first trying unsuccessfully to break through along the far left side of the road before cutting back to the middle.
Woods' fifth-place finish marks the second-best placement in the event for a Canadian, trailing only Steve Bauer's 1984 silver-medal performance in Los Angeles.
• Mike Woods: 5th (6:06.33)
• Results and Video (NBCOlympics.com)
