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Hugo houle is second canadian to win tour de france stage, dedicates to brother.

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Hugo Houle became the second Canadian to win a Tour de France stage, getting the first road race victory of his pro career on a hilly, transitional 15th stage before the Tour hits the Pyrenees leading up to Sunday’s ride into Paris.

Houle, 31, crossed the finish line in Foix ahead of France’s Valentin Madouas and Canadian Michael Woods by 70 seconds after nearly four and a half hours of riding.

“This one is for my brother,” Houle, whose brother Pierrick was killed by a drunk driver while running in 2012, said soon after pointing to the sky at the finish. “I had one dream, win a stage for my brother who died, when I turned professional.”

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Houle said he originally attacked to set the table for his Israel–Premier Tech teammate Woods.

“I never win a race,” he said. “So, I guess it’s the right place to win my first race.”

The other Canadian to win a Tour stage was Steve Bauer in 1988.

The overall leaders -- Jonas Vingegaard , Tadej Pogacar and Geraint Thomas -- finished in the same time, 5:54 behind Houle. Frenchman Romain Bardet dropped from fourth to ninth place.

The Tour’s final two mountain stages are summit finishes on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, the riders will finish at an airport featured in the James Bond movie “Tomorrow Never Dies.”

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Canada's Michael Woods wins Tour de France ninth stage

Canadian Michael Woods delivered an impressive solo effort to claim the biggest success of his career at the top of a legendary Tour de France climb on Sunday.

Issued on: 09/07/2023 - 18:13

Woods, who rides for the Israel -Premier Tech team, has no ambition in the general classification and was part of an early breakaway that the main contenders allowed to form early in the ninth stage .

Woods managed to catch American Matteo Jorgenson just 500 meters from the summit after his 24-year-old rival jumped away from the leading group with less than 50 kilometers left.

Woods then dropped Jorgenson at ease and reached the summit of the Puy de Dome, a famed volcanic crater in the Massif Central region of south-central France that last hosted a stage 35 years ago.

Frenchman Pierre Latour finished second with Matej Mohoric completing the stage podium. Jorgenson ended up fourth.

Race leader Jonas Vingegaard and second-placed Tadej Pogacar rode in the main peloton more than 10 minutes behind.

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Canadian rider Houle races to third in Stage 13 of Tour de France

The Canadian Press Staff

Hugo Houle of Canada at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Milton, Ont. on Wednesday, July 22, 2015. Houle finished third in Stage 13 of the Tour de France on Friday, July 15, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

SAINT-ETIENNE, FRANCE -- Canadian rider Hugo Houle finished third in Stage 13 of the Tour de France, narrowly missing Canada's first stage victory in 34 years.

The Israel-Premier Tech cyclist from Sainte-Perpetue, Que., was in the lead group of three riders that broke away from the pack with 20 kilometres to go in the stage.

Danish rider and former world champion Mads Pedersen launched a sprint with 300 metres to go and held on for his first Tour de France stage victory in four hours 13 minutes and three seconds, finishing just ahead of Britain's Frank Wright and Houle.

It was the third stage win in four days for Danish cyclists.

�� A 3-man final that saw @Mads__Pedersen sprint to victory in Saint-Etienne! �� Here's the last KM of stage 13! ��Un final à trois qui couronne @Mads__Pedersen après un sprint en costaud ! �� Revivez le dernier KM de la 13ème étape ! #TDF2022 | @Continental_fr pic.twitter.com/x2iyc1CbgB — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 15, 2022

Houle's result moved him up eight places in the overall classification to 35th, 1:06.09 behind race leader Jonas Vingegaard.

Houle previous best Tour de France stage result was a seventh-place finish in Stage 12 of the 2020 race.

The only Canadian to win a Tour de France stage is Steve Bauer, who took the opening stage in 1988.

Bauer is the sporting director at Israel-Premier Tech.

Merci M. @francoislegault ! https://t.co/5otSIDnAn6 — Hugo Houle (@HugoHoule) July 15, 2022

Houle's teammate, Montreal rider Guillaume Boivin, also had a strong performance in Stage 13, finishing 17th. He rose eight spots in the general classification to 134th overall.

Antoine Duchesne of Saguenay, Que., riding for Groupama FDJ, was 63rd in the stage (No. 91 overall), and Ottawa's Michael Woods, also of Israel-Premier Tech was 97th in the stage (No. 62 overall).

Pedersen was crowned world champion in 2019. He also won Gent-Wevelgem two years ago but had never tasted victory in a Grand Tour.

Following two brutal days of racing in the Alps, Vingegaard enjoyed a quiet day in the pack, well protected by his Jumbo-Visma teammates.

Two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar, who gave away the yellow jersey during the first big mountain stage at the Col du Granon, did not try anything to unsettle Vingegaard during the 193-kilometre Stage 13 which started inLe Bourg-d'Oisans.

Their battle is expected to resume next week in the thin air of the Pyrenees mountains before the race ends in Paris in nine days.

With files from The Associated Press.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15, 2022.

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Canadians Competing in the Tour de France 2022

The Tour de France is the pinnacle event of the cycling calendar, with this world-famous event being one that many continue to look out for from all around the world, including in Canada.

Indeed, with a couple of riders set to represent the Maple Leaf Country in this year’s event, July 1 can not come quick enough for fans as they are excited to see what happens and to see whether the trio that is set to compete can bring some pride to the nation.

In this article, we will take a look at each of the three riders set to compete in the 2022 Tour de France, and look to try and provide you with an insight into each rider and what could be expected. Additionally, we will also look to try and provide you with a look back through Canadian history in regard to this prestigious cycling tour event, too!

Three Canadian riders set to represent the country in the 2022 Tour De France

As highlighted, Canada will be represented in the upcoming tour event, with three cyclists set to don the lycra and spandex as they compete for the teams that they represent in the hopes of having a successful tournament from a team and a personal perspective.

Chris Froome will be at the Tour de France. https://t.co/a0i6jEI5SW @IsraelPremTech for #TDF2022 : Chris Froome 🇬🇧 Jakob Fuglsang 🇩🇰 Michael Woods 🇨🇦 Daryl Impey 🇿🇦 Simon Clarke 🇦🇺 Hugo Houle 🇨🇦 Krists Neilands 🇱🇻 Omer Goldstein 🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/3j7f440Oqo — CyclingTips (@cyclingtips) June 22, 2022

So, who are the three riders set to take to the roads of France (and Denmark) throughout July? They are:

• Hugo Houle (Israel-Premier Tech)
• Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech)
• Antoine Duchesne (Goupama-FDJ)

As it can be seen, two of the riders will be on the same team and competing together, while Duchesne will be the only Canadian not to be with a compatriot. Let’s take a look at each of these riders set to take part in the prestigious race in a little more detail.

Antoine Duchesne

Let’s begin with the sole rider, Antoine Duchesne. He has been a part of the FDJ team since 2018, however, this year’s Tour de France will be the very first that he has competed in for the team. In fact, he has only ever competed in this particular event on one occasion. This was in 2016 when he was part of Team Europcar and he placed 107th.

Duchesne has only had a few Grand Tour events in his professional career to date, with the Giro d’Italia in 2021 being the most recent one to have been competed in. He finished this event in 115th.

Michael Woods

The 35-year-old Michael Woods is another rider who has some experience of competing in the Tour de France, although his results have been mixed. He finished a respectable 32nd in the 2019 edition, but obtained a DNF (did not finish) in the 2021 race event for his current team – EF Education First.

Nonetheless, it would seem that there are some that believe that he could be the best chance of success for Canadian racers, with a number of sportsbooks seemingly highlighting this with the odds that they have provided.

Indeed, Ontario local Michael Woods is favored in Ontario sports betting sites and punters are already able to get a number of good valued bets that they can place on him should they wish to.

One of the many reasons why he might be favored is due to his record in Grand Tours, with the experienced cyclist having been able to finish as high as 7th in the past; in the 2017 Vuelta a Espana event, as well as high as 19th in the 2018 Giro d’Italia.

Naturally, with that kind of experience, it would not be a surprise to see him do well, although the recent DNF in last year’s event may be something of a consideration.

Hugo Houle is an experienced Tour de France rider, having competed in the last three editions of the event. Those events came as part of the Astana team, where he finished 91st (2019), 47th (2020), and 66th (2021).

This year’s race will be the first one that he has competed in for Israel-Premier Tech, having recently only signed for the team earlier this year on a three-year contract.

How well have Canadians performed in the Tour de France?

Canada has not had a great history when it comes down to success in the Tour de France, however that does not mean that they have not been able to enjoy some over the years.

Ryder Hesjedal was one individual who managed to achieve some success in the competition, perhaps also being the most successful to come from the Maple Leaf Country. The rider managed to come fifth overall in the 2010 event as he rode for the Slipstream-Chipotle team. A year later, he  was on tghe squad that won the Stage 2 team time trial (TTT) race; an event in which teams compete against a clock.

He’s had a lot more of his success with the Giro d’Italia, where he finished first in 2012, before placing ninth and fifth in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Hesjedal became the first rider from the North American nation to win a stage at the Tour de France since 1988 when Steve Bauer was the last person to have been able to win an individual stage in that year’s event.

Bauer had a career year in 1988, as he placed fourth in the overall standings of the Grand Tour event, after being first in Stage 1 . He also held the yellow jersey following Stage 1 and through Stages 8 to 11, while holding the green jersey between Stages 1 and 2.

Moreover, in 1990 he managed to hold the yellow jersey between Stages 1-9, thus highlighting just how accomplished he was at road racing.

What will the 2022 Tour de France be like for the Canadians?

Of course, with July 1 rapidly approaching us, there will be many wondering what the future holds for the trio of Canadians set to compete in the upcoming tour and whether they will be able to achieve any success while on the road.

Naturally, finishing the event may be considered a fine accomplishment, but you can guarantee each of them will be wanting to do as good as they can, especially with the support of Canada on their shoulders fully behind them!

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Giro d'italia, gp morbihan (coupe de france), lagrange cycling classic, uci mtb fort william, tro bro leon (coupe de france), spin the district: college park, tour de hongrie, uci bmx freestyle wcup - fise, circuit de wallonie (exterioo cycling c, 4 jours de dunkerque, vuelta a burgos féminas, uci mtb bielsko bialia poland, veenendaal classic (exterioo cycling cup, uci bmx racing world championships, introducing the four canadians and their jobs in the 2022 tour de france, the 2022 tour de france has a record four canadians in the peloton. get to know them and the different roles they will play this july..

The Tour de France is the pinnacle of professional road cycling and a sport that is, at its core, a very European affair. For a rider to infiltrate cycling's elite ranks from nations outside Europe represents years of hard work, discipline and sacrifice, while often isolated from family and friends. 

2022 Tour de France

Take, for example, Simon Clarke, winner of stage 5 of this year’s Tour de France. In his post-race interview , he explains how he left Australia at the age of 16 to pursue professional cycling. Nearly 20 years later, his dream of victory at the Tour de France was realized.

Despite the hurdles that international riders must overcome to make it to the Tour de France, their numbers are growing. In 2022, Canada boasts a record four riders in the Tour de France, and dreams of a Canadian stage victory are alive and well as the Tour reaches its first mountain stages.

FloBikes is proud to provide Canadians live and on-demand coverage of the Tour de France in 2022. Read on to get to know the four Canadians competing in this year’s Tour de France, and the unique jobs that they have this July. Be sure to tune in daily to follow their journey across France.

• Antoine Duchesne

Antoine Duchesne , the 30 year old riding for Groupama - FDJ hails from Saguenay, a city in Quebec which has hosted a significant stage race of its own. Duchesne found his way to Europe after racing for the Bontrager development team alongside the likes of Jasper Stuyven , and has matured into a capable climber and a steadfast teammate. 

Duchesne won the KOM classification in the 2016 edition of Paris-Nice and became Canada’s national champion in 2018. 

This July, Duchesne will be an important ally to teammates David Gaudu and Thibaut Pinot in the Tour’s mountains. His FDJ team hopes to support Gaudu’s general classification ambitions, while Pinot focuses on stage victories and KOM points. Duchesne will be instrumental in keeping his team leaders safe and well positioned, but that does not mean he won't be given opportunities of his own. 

Duchesne's only previous Tour de France experience comes from 2016, while racing for Direct Energie. The then-24-year-old made it to Paris, which is no small feat, and finished 16th in the youth competition. Six years later, Duchesne will be eager to see how he performs on the sport's biggest stage.

• Guillaume Boivin

At 33 years old, Guillaume Boivin has been a professional cyclist since joining Spidertech in 2010. The Montreal native had the ride of his life while wearing the maple leaf national champion’s jersey at last year’s Paris-Roubaix . Despite crashing hard in the finale, he still finished 9th. 

Boivin was a last minute addition to Israel - Premier Tech’s roster after COVID-19 exposures forced them to leave Omer Goldstein and Daryl Impey at home. 

Boivin is a powerhouse rider with a nose for the breakaway. While he has remained relatively anonymous in the Tour’s opening stages, look for the muscular profile of Boivin making long-range attacks on hilly stages when the breakaway might manage to stave off the chasing peloton.

Hugo Houle is the third Quebecois in this year’s Tour de France. From Sainte-Perpétue, Houle began his career in 2011 with Spidertech after graduating college.

The 31-year-old Houle is a soft spoken, consummate professional who spent the last four years of his career shepherding Astana’s GC leaders through the most dangerous and stressful stages of the Tour de France. 

Houle, a two-time time trial national champion, has seemingly endless power on flat and hilly courses, and his innate ability to guide his team safely through crosswinds and hazardous racing scenarios earned him the role of road captain on Astana.

Houle transferred to Israel - Premier Tech for the 2022 season after the Canadian presenting sponsor cut ties with Astana. While Houle will play a major role in Jakob Fuglsang ’s GC ambitions, he is not afraid to strike out for a personal result when given a chance. He has ridden himself into the top ten on previous Tour de France stages. 

Following Simon Clarke’s cobbled victory, the team is riding a high, and Houle could be next in line for a “hard-man race” victory.

• Michael Woods

It is no coincidence that three of the four Canadians in the Tour de France find themselves on Israel - Premier Tech. While the team obviously has strong ties to Israel, it is owned by Canadian Sylvan Adams, and presenting sponsor Premier Tech is a company based in Quebec. The team has given many Canadians a home in the WorldTour, and Michael Woods was one of their highest priority signings. The hyper-talented former runner from Ontario captured the attention of the cycling world with his podium finish in the 2018 world championships . 

Woods is known for his explosive climbing style, which put him in the iconic polka dot jersey of last year’s Tour de France. 

Woods admitted that he went into last year’s tour attempting to accomplish too many objectives. This year, Woods’ primary goal is to win a stage of the Tour de France. He hopes to remain competitive in the KOM competition as he hunts for stages in the high mountains, but this year he will not sacrifice a finish line for a KOM line.

In a big improvement over 2021, Woods made it through the ever-dangerous opening stages without incident this year. With fresh legs and a healthy body, his first opportunity for victory arrives this Friday on the Super Planche des Belles Filles.

• Thibaut Pinot
• Jakob Fuglsang
• Jasper Stuyven
• David Gaudu

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Who are the North Americans racing in the Tour de France?

Kuss, Woods, Simmons and Powless amongst five US and three Canadian riders in the peloton

The Tour de France has long been the domain of European riders, and the peloton of 176 is still largely made up of riders from across the continent. Eight North American riders will take the start line across six teams at this year’s Tour. They all have Grand Tour experience, and a few have even put their names in the record books or at least earned an asterisk for special efforts. 

While they all share a similarity with the main task at hand for each team - support the team’s GC leader - each is capable of going for glory with a stage victory should an opportunity arise across the three weeks. The last North American to win a stage at the Tour was Hugo Houle (Israel-Premier Tech), who captured an emotional victory in Foix. A North American name is absent from the contenders' list to carry the maillot jaune, per nominations of the veterans by the teams, but anything can happen like Neilson Powless’ (EF Education-EasyPost) near take of the race lead on stage 5 last year.

Three of the US crew will also be in contention for the best young rider classification, but even that remains a tall order since Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) has monopolised that distinction for the past three years and remains eligible. Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) finished fourth in the young rider category last year, and he'll compete against Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) and Kevin Vermaerke (Team dsm-firmenich). The last North American rider to win the white jersey as the best young rider was Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing Team) in 2012, while Andrew Talansky (Garmin Sharp) finished second the next year.

Cyclingnews profiles the eight North Americans who will be on the start line when the race kicks off in Bilbao, Spain, on Saturday.

Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost)

It will be Tour de France number four for Powless, the first tribally-recognised Native North American to take on the French Grand Tour. The EF Education-EasyPost rider made the break four times during the three weeks and fought for the stage win on two of the most prestigious stage finishes, settling for fourth at Arenberg and L'Alpe d'Huez.

“He rode more kilometres than anyone in the breaks last year, I think, and we hope he takes the next step this year,” team CEO Jonathan Vaughers said about the lone US rider on the US-based squad. 

That next step could be a stage win or even grabbing the yellow jersey on a climbing stage, which he almost accomplished last year. Powless lay four seconds off the yellow jersey at one point on stage 5, but Tadej Pogačar sprinted to the victory and took bonus seconds at the line to keep the 25-year-old at bay. Powless did go on to finish in Paris in 13th on GC, the best result in seven years for any North American. 

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“Obviously, if I could win a stage, that would be incredible. That would be my Tour made if that happens, but if we have Richie [Carapaz] or Rigo [Uran] up in GC and we can get someone on the podium, that would be incredible as well,” said Powless, who won the GC at this year’ five-stage Etoile de Bessèges.

Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma)

Hailing from the small city of Durango in the Colorado Rocky mountains is Sepp Kuss, who comes into this year’s Tour having ridden 10 Grand Tours, this being his fourth Tour de France. 

Kuss has proven himself across the highest terrain, capped by a stage 15 win to Andorra la Vella in the 2021 Tour. He kept busy at last year’s Tour, doing mega turns in the Alps and Pyrenees on behalf of Jumbo-Visma teammate and eventual winner Jonas Vingegaard. Through all the battling to help Vingegaard to victory, Kuss found himself finish 18th on the GC.

He’s a top lieutenant now for any climbing day, and this year’s Tour provides a record seventy climbs across the 21 stages, so there’s plenty of opportunities to suffer and succeed. 

Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar Team)

Jorgenson returns with Spanish squad Movistar for his second Tour de France, with the squad set for a hectic start on home soil on the first three stages. Jorgenson emerged as a breakaway staple during the race last year, getting out front three times and finishing in the top five on each stage, including on the Megève summit finish, where he was within 10 seconds away from his first Grand Tour victory.

While his role is still to support GC contender, Enric Mas, Jorgenson has new confidence that could push him onto the podium on a stage, most likely one that showcases his climbing ability. Celebrating his 24th birthday during stage 1 in Bilbao, the rider from Idaho captured his first overall GC title at Tour of Oman in February. He rode a strong Paris-Nice and then finished second overall, plus a best young rider crown, at Tour de Romandie. 

He’s poised to prove himself at this year’s Tour and move up from his 21st overall placing in 2022.

Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek)

Another rider from the small town of Durango is Quinn Simmons, the new US Pro road race national champion who loves to be aggressive. In his first Tour in 2022, he charged ahead in five different stage breaks during the race, getting up the road five times, and by stage 19, he was rewarded as the most combative rider. While Colorado rider did not get on the podium, he helped teammate Mads Pedersen to a breakaway victory on stage 13, a rolling day in the Alps from Bourg d’Oisans to Saint-Etienne, Trek-Segafredo’s only victory in the Tour that year.

Wearing his new Lidl-Trek kit with the blue and white US stars on the shoulders and red stripes on the lower chest, Simmons will support team GC leader Mattias Skjelmose and look to create sparks on climbing days and any opportunities from a breakaway. He demonstrated his ability to climb at his first Grand Tour in 2021, taking third on stage 19 at the Vuelta. 

Kevin Vermaerke (Team dsm-firmenich)

When Team dsm-firmenich takes the start at the Grand Départ in Bilbao, US rider Kevin Vermaerke will return for his second Tour de France in support of Frenchman Romain Bardet. 

Vermaerke, just 22 years old, was named to the team as one of three riders who can pound out the kilometres across the mountainous terrain spread across all three weeks, and improve Bardet’s 2022 finish from sixth overall. If anything, Vermaerke would like to make it to Paris for his second Tour, as he crashed hard on stage 8 last year and had to abandon with a broken left collarbone.

The young California climber is in his fourth season at the WorldTour level and looking for his first big win at the top level. This season he has helped Bardet to a fifth-place GC finish at Tour de Suisse and seventh overall at Paris-Nice.

Lawson Craddock (Jayco-AlUla)

The 31-year-old Texan made his Grand Tour debut in the 2014 Vuelta a España in his first year on the WorldTour level riding for Giant-Shimano, and two years later arrived at the Tour de France. It was at the Vuelta in 2021 and 2022 that he carried the stars-and-stripes jersey to a pair of top 10 stage finishes as US Pro time trial national champion.

While there is just one time trial at this year’s Tour on stage 16, Craddock has proven his versatility in stage racing over the past 12 seasons. He had a podium on stage 11 at the 2019 Vuelta and a fifth on a rolling course into Bilbao on stage 5 last year. Jayco AlUla will count on Craddock to support Simon Yates when the road begins to climb, be it in the opening, familiar terrain of the Basque Country or in the final week in the Alps.

Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech)

Michael Woods has already shown great form in France this season, winning La Route d’Occitanie for a second time. He also confirmed he is still one of the top climbers in the peloton with a second place at CIC-Mont Ventoux. 

The veteran Canadian on the team, now 36, helped Houle to his stage 16 victory at the Tour last year and finished on the podium in third after having struggled through the early part of the Tour following a crash. He lines up for his fourth Tour as a co-leader on Israel-Premier Tech alongside Dylan Teuns. 

“I’m really excited for this year’s Tour de France. The course suits me quite well, especially the opening stages in the Basque Country. This is an area I’ve had a lot of success in, with my two Vuelta a España stage wins both taking place there. I really enjoy racing in this area,” Woods said, saying his ambition was to win a stage, which would be his first at the Tour de France.

Hugo Houle (Israel-Premier Tech)

Hugo Houle became a Canadian rock star at last year’s Tour de France, riding to a solo victory on stage 16 and becoming the first Canadian to win a Tour stage since Steve Bauer’s monumental ride in 1988. He also was part of a three-rider breakaway on stage 13 and finished on the podium, third in the sprint to Saint-Etienne. When he arrived in Paris, he was 24th overall.

Israel-Premier Tech came away with two stage wins last year in the Tour, the second notched on stage 5 across the Arenberg cobbles by Simon Clarke. The team has said it looks for stage wins again this year, and a versatile rider like Houle has chances on any undulating terrain. LIke Woods, Houle is a veteran at 32 years of age and rides to support his compatriot in any GC hopes. 

Guillaume Boivin (Israel-Premier Tech)

Guillaume Boivin brings a fast finish for his third consecutive appearance in the French Grand Tour. The 34-year-old from Montreal will primarily serve as a lead-out for New Zealand sprinter Corbin Strong, who makes his Grand Tour debut. However, Boivin, now in his 14th season, is very capable of fighting for a stage win himself.

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Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. She has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast). Her favorite road and gravel rides are around horse farms in north Georgia (USA) and around lavender fields in Provence (France), and some mtb rides in Park City, Utah (USA).

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Ottawa’s Michael Woods wins ninth stage of Tour de France

This article was published more than 6 months ago. Some information may no longer be current.

Canada's Michael Woods, right, overtakes Neilson Powless of the U.S., wearing the best climber's dotted jersey, on the climb to Puy de Dome during the ninth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 182.5 kilometres (113.5 miles) with start in Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat and finish in Puy de Dome, France on July 9. Vincent Kalut/The Associated Press

Michael Woods became the third Canadian to win a stage at the historic Tour de France on Sunday, and the biggest victory of his career meant he had to conquer a legendary mountain.

Mr. Woods, 36, of Ottawa raced near the front throughout the 182.5-kilometre leg between Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat and Puy de Dôme, an extinct volcano in central France, but made his biggest move with 500 metres to go.

That’s when he overtook 24-year-old Matteo Jorgenson of the United States to win the ninth of 21 stages in four hours 19 minutes 21 seconds. Mr. Jorgenson ended up placing fourth, 36 seconds back.

Mr. Woods joins Steve Bauer, who in 1988 became the first Canadian to win a stage of the world’s most famous cycling race, and Hugo Houle, who won one last year. At that 2022 leg, Mr. Woods finished in third spot.

On Sunday, Mr. Woods was mobbed by teammates as he crossed the finish line. The stage features a dramatic uphill climb at the end and is considered one of the most challenging of the Grand Tour. The Tour de France has been staged every year since 1903 with the exception of the First and Second World Wars.

“I’m having a pinch-myself moment,” Mr. Woods said afterward. “I can’t believe I did it. I’m really proud of myself and proud of my team. It’s special.”

A two-time Olympian, Mr. Woods placed fifth in the men’s road race at the 2020 Tokyo Games , Canada’s second-best Olympic result in the event. He has been a cyclist for just 11 years – prior to that he was a distance runner but gave it up because of injuries. For 18 years he has held the Canadian one-mile record for under-20-year-old runners at three minutes 57.48 seconds.

Mr. Woods has had two other top-10 finishes in this edition of the Tour de France – a fifth and a sixth. He is 22nd among 169 riders in the overall standings. The 10th stage from Vulcania to Issoire begins Tuesday, with the last one concluding on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on July 23.

The event consists of 21 daylong stages that cover 3,500 kilometres.

The rest of the top five finishers in the lengthy ninth stage all finished within one minute of each other: Pierre Latour of France was 28 seconds behind; Matej Mahoric of Slovenia was 35 seconds in arrears, followed ever-so-closely by Mr. Jorgenson. Clément Berthet of France placed fifth, 55 seconds back.

Mr. Woods has raced for the Israel-Premier Tech team for three years. Mr. Bauer, Canada’s most celebrated road racer, is the sporting director of the team.

In 1988, the Tour de France also included a leg to Puy de Dôme.

Over the last 14 kilometres, riders must grind their way through a 1,047-metre climb.

“The last five kilometres are especially brutal,” Mr. Bauer said Sunday night from France. “It is steeped and the road swirls around the volcano like a top. It is perfect for Michael. Super-steep is his forte.”

Mr. Bauer, who lives in St. Catharines, Ont., recalls his victory in the first stage of the event 35 years ago.

“Every second of it,” he said. “It is definitely a life accomplishment. When you get one it is special. For Mike, it is the most beautiful win of his career. It is top tier.”

Mr. Bauer said the team’s strategy was for Mr. Woods and a teammate to break away from the pack at the start and then to put a large gap between them and the trailers.

“It gave Mike the best chance,” Mr. Bauer said.

“... We are all happy for Mike. He is a great athlete. We have a big entourage. We’ll have a glass of beer or bubbly tonight and toast him.”

Mr. Woods has no ambition in the general classification and was part of an early breakaway that the main contenders allowed to form early in the ninth stage. He managed to catch Mr. Jorgenson just 500 metres from the summit after his 24-year-old rival jumped away from the leading group with less than 50 kilometres left.

The 36-year-old Canadian then dropped Mr. Jorgenson at ease and reached the summit of the Puy de Dôme.

Mr. Houle, Mr. Woods’s Israel-Premier Tech teammate, won Stage 16 of last year’s Tour de France. His victory was Canada’s first stage win in the historic race since Mr. Bauer captured the opening stage of the race in 1988.

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Team israel scoops tour de france stage win in 'one of the best days ever'.

Canadian rider Michael Woods became one of the oldest riders to ever win a stage of cycling's biggest race

BY Jonny Long

• Tour de France 2023
• Israel Premier Tech

Israel - Premier Tech's Canadian rider Michael Woods (R) celebrates winning the 9th stage of the 110th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, 182,5 km between Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat and Puy de Dome, in the Massif Central volcanic mountains in central France, on July 9, 2023. (Photo by MICHAEL STEELE / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MICHAEL STEELE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Canadian cyclist Michael Woods has won Israel-Premier Tech’s first Tour de France stage of the 2023 race, becoming one of the oldest men to ever take a stage victory.

Woods, who only turned to cycling nine years ago at the late age of 27, won the ninth stage of the famous race atop the mythical Puy de Dôme, an 11,000-year-old dormant volcano in the Massif Central region of France becoming the first athlete ever to have both run a four-minute mile and won a stage of the Tour de France.

Israel-Premier Tech’s team owner, the Israeli-Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams, said that while there would be celebrations at the team hotel that evening, the team would be looking to not just equal last year’s record of two Tour stage wins but eclipse their previous best race result.

GettyImages-1516668108

Canadian Michael Woods of Israel-Premier Tech celebrates on the podium after winning stage 9 of the Tour de France cycling race, a 182,4 km race from Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat to Puy de Dome, France, Sunday 09 July 2023. This year's Tour de France takes place from 01 to 23 July 2023. BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM (Photo by DIRK WAEM / BELGA MAG / Belga via AFP)

“I’m so happy for Mike,” Adams said. “It’s a great feeling to finish the first week of the Tour with a victory. There will be quite a nice celebration at the hotel tonight, and the rest day tomorrow will certainly be festive. And, we have two more weeks to hunt for more success. We won two stages last year. How nice would it be to exceed that lofty result?

L'chaim: Sylvan Adams (centre) with the Israel team

"Due to my long personal relationship with Mike and the other Canadians on our team, I couldn’t be more proud. One of the best days ever for the team. Y’alla!”

Woods was part of a large group that escaped up the road to fight for the stage win, who then had to successfully claw back and catch the lone leader American Matteo Jorgenson.

In Woods’ support car behind as he climbed the volcano, the team’s sports director Rik Verbrugghe bluffed and told the Canadian he was only one minute behind Jorgenson, not the actual two minutes, to avoid the 36-year-old losing hope.

Israel - Premier Tech arrived at the Tour this year with the goal of winning at least one stage, no easy feat for a relatively new team.

“I’m still having a pinch-myself moment,” Woods said after the finish, a less busy affair than usual as the narrow road leading up to the summit restricted the number of cars and fans allowed up. “I can’t believe I made it. I’m really proud of myself and proud of my team. It’s special.”

“I’m 36 years old, 37 this year, not getting any younger,” Woods continued of finally achieving his dream of a Tour stage win.

“I’ve always talked about winning a stage at the Tour de France and I finally achieved it. So fortunate to have so many good people behind me – my family, my team, Sylvan Adams, my parents, my wife, my kids, they’ve all supported me, I’ve had some tough times the past few years. I’m back on top and really proud.”

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Tour de France

Us, canadian riders soaring to best tour de france results since 1980s, tour de hoody: across this tour de france, us and canadian riders are attacking and delivering results unseen by north american riders in decades..

Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! >","name":"in-content-cta","type":"link"}}'>Download the app .

There was a moment deep in Wednesday’s explosive 17th stage when Sepp Kuss and Brandon McNulty paced their respective GC leaders at the front of the elite yellow jersey group.

Though Kuss later faded, McNulty delivered a searing career-best performance with third in the stage that fractured the peloton and set up teammate Tadej Pogačar for his third stage win of the 2022 Tour de France .

The U.S. riders’ exploits came a day after an emotional Hugo Houle won Canada’s first Tour stage in decades, with compatriot and teammate Michael Woods tying a personal Tour-best third.

Across this Tour de France, U.S. and Canadian riders are attacking and delivering results unseen by North American riders in decades.

The 2022 Tour marks a coming of age for Canadian riders, while a new generation of U.S. riders is making its presence felt in remarkable ways since the Tour left Copenhagen on July 1.

“There is a new generation taking over the Tour de France and it’s exciting to be a part of that,” said Trek-Segafredo’s Quinn Simmons. “A lot of the guys here, we’ve been racing together since we were juniors. It’s exciting times ahead.”

Just consider the North American results so far through 17 stages:

• Houle’s win in stage 16 was the first by Canada since 1988, when Israel Premier Tech sport director Steve Bauer won stage 2, wore the yellow jersey for five days, and finished fourth overall.
• McNulty’s third Wednesday is the best U.S. result so far in this Tour, and his best since his Tour debut in 2021.
• Neilson Powless came within four seconds on stage 6 of becoming the first U.S. rider to wear the yellow jersey since Greg LeMond in 1991.
• Four of the seven U.S. starters — Kuss, McNulty, Matteo Jorgenson and Powless — have finished in the top-10 on stages.
• Two of the four Canadian starters — Woods and Houle — have finished third or better in stages.
• Powless is the best-placed so far on GC, starting Thursday’s 18th stage in 12th overall.

The top placings in this Tour are the best official results by North American riders since the early 1990s.

• Michael Woods on Israel-Premier Tech: ‘This is Canada’s team’
• Americans in the 2022 Tour de France: A new generation takes over
• Hugo Houle soloes to Canada’s first stage win since 1988

Many of the top Tour results, particularly from U.S. riders in the late 1990s and into the 2000s, are officially removed from the Tour results sheet.

Yellow jerseys and other top results by Lance Armstrong, Dave Zabriskie, George Hincapie and Floyd Landis have all been officially disqualified for doping admissions and violations by the UCI, anti-doping authorities, and Tour organizers.

Kuss, who won a stage in last year’s Tour in Andorra, was the last American to take a stage since Tyler Farrar did so in 2011.

Powless came close to earning the latest official U.S. yellow jersey when he climbed in second in stage 5 and 6, when he was just four seconds off the maillot jaune . The last official U.S. yellow jersey was Greg LeMond during the 1991 Tour, when he held it during the first week and later lost it to Miguel Indurain.

Also read : The first, last, and only US yellow jersey is Greg LeMond

Bauer and Alex Stieda, who became the first Canadian and North American to wear the maillot jaune in 1986, are the only Canadians to don yellow in Tour history.

So what’s behind the North American revival?

In Canada, the backing of Israel Premier Tech is giving Canadian riders a historic boost and access to the highest levels of the WorldTour.

Five of the six WorldTour riders from Canada are on the team, including three of the four Canadians at this Tour, with Houle, Woods and Guillaume Boivin. Also racing this Tour, Antoine Duchesne races for Groupama-FDJ.

Team owner Sylvan Adams is originally from Canada, and new co-sponsor Premier Tech, which moved across from Astana in 2022, is also Canadian and has been developing Canadian riders for more than a decade.

“They’re really putting Canadian cycling on the map,” Woods said earlier this season. “Now with Premier Tech coming on board, it really does feel like this is Canada’s team.

“Now that we have five Canadian riders in the WorldTour on this team, I think we are going to set the bar high, and lead by example,” Woods said. “When you have Canadians having success at the highest level, it will inspire others to do well. This is now the peak of Canadian cycling, but it’s only going to get better. I hope it will inspire more riders to move up the ranks in Canada.”

The first stage win at the Tour de France, by a Canadian, in more than three decades – congratulations, @HugoHoule ! All of us back home couldn’t be prouder of your drive and determination. #TDF2022 https://t.co/pb53JRJEF0 — Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) July 19, 2022

Houle’s stage win came as a personal confirmation a decade in the WorldTour, and Woods, already a stage-winner at the Vuelta a España, has been nipping at the edge of major Tour success the past few years.

Best US generation in decades is already a force

It’s a different story among a younger generation of U.S. riders coming into the ranks.

Kuss, 27, is already a proven Tour stage-winner, and is racing his third Tour with Jumbo-Visma where he is a key helper to yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard.

This year, seven U.S. riders started the Tour, the most since 2014. All of this year’s Tour starters, except 31-year-old Joe Dombrowski, are under 30. Jorgenson, Simmons, Kevin Vermaerke, McNulty and Powless are 25 or less.

“It’s exciting right now with a lot of talented American riders coming through,” Jorgenson said. “We’ve kind of grown up racing together and now we’re all hitting the WorldTour at the same time, and getting some good results. It’s pretty cool.”

All the U.S. riders are pressing at the front in this year’s Tour.

Jorgenson rode into three winning breakaways so far in this Tour, and helped tow Movistar team captain Enric Mas back to the front in the cobblestone stage early in the race. Jorgenson has hit fourth twice and once fifth so far in this Tour.

Simmons attacked into four breakaways, and rode to a Tour-best 11th in stage 10 to Megeve, and later helped set up Mads Pedersen for his breakaway victory on stage 13.

Vermaerke, 21, who crashed out in the first week with a broken clavicle, recently signed a contract extension to stay with Team DSM through 2025.

“A lot of the guys here, we raced together as juniors or U23 riders already in Europe, so it’s a natural progression to get to the Tour,” Vermaerke said earlier in the race. “I think we’re at the start of something that will be grow in the coming years.”

Many of the U.S. riders in this year’s Tour came through the USA Cycling’s development program, which gave them valuable racing experience in Europe as teenagers, as well as teams such as Hagens Berman Axeon and Rally Cycling (now Human Powered Health).

What’s different from earlier generations of U.S. riders is that there isn’t a singular U.S.-backed team that is loaded with American riders, like 7-Eleven or U.S. Postal Service.

The peloton is much more international than it was two or three decades ago, and the U.S. presence is spread across the peloton. EF Education-Easy Post and Trek-Segafredo, two U.S.-backed teams, only brought one rider each respectively from the U.S.

That means that riders must compete even harder to earn spots on teams, so the riders who are being picked up by WorldTour teams are already among the elite in the world. Subsequent success at the Tour is a natural next step in that evolution.

In what’s a testament to the more global dynamics, 11 of the North Americans starting this Tour are spread across nine different teams.

Could there be a North American Tour contender among their ranks? Many believe that riders like Kuss, Powless, or McNulty could continue to develop to perhaps emerge as GC captains.

There are other young North Americans waiting in the wings, including riders like Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) and Sean Quinn (EF Education-EasyPost).

Fans will be hoping it won’t be decades before more Tour de France success.

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prestige","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/demi-vollering-becomes-a-nike-athlete-reflecting-her-growing-prestige\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/demi-vollering-becomes-a-nike-athlete-reflecting-her-growing-prestige\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"demi vollering becomes a nike athlete, reflecting her growing prestige\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/demi-vollering-becomes-a-nike-athlete-reflecting-her-growing-prestige\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"demi vollering becomes a nike athlete, reflecting her growing prestige\"}}\u0027>\n demi vollering becomes a nike athlete, reflecting her growing prestige\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"are \u2018bicarb systems\u2019 all hype or here to stay study points to big progress for baking soda performance-boosters","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-training\/are-bicarbonate-systems-all-hype-or-here-to-stay-evidence-points-to-big-progress-for-baking-soda-supplementation\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-training\/are-bicarbonate-systems-all-hype-or-here-to-stay-evidence-points-to-big-progress-for-baking-soda-supplementation\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"are \u2018bicarb systems\u2019 all hype or here to stay study points to big progress for baking soda performance-boosters\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-training\/are-bicarbonate-systems-all-hype-or-here-to-stay-evidence-points-to-big-progress-for-baking-soda-supplementation\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"are \u2018bicarb systems\u2019 all hype or here to stay study points to big progress for baking soda performance-boosters\"}}\u0027>\n are \u2018bicarb systems\u2019 all hype or here to stay study points to big progress for baking soda performance-boosters\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"cracking the giro d\u2019italia code: lessons from the training diary of a recent podium finisher","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-training\/lessons-from-the-training-diary-of-a-giro-ditalia-podium-finisher\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-training\/lessons-from-the-training-diary-of-a-giro-ditalia-podium-finisher\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"cracking the giro d\u2019italia code: lessons from the training diary of a recent podium finisher\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-training\/lessons-from-the-training-diary-of-a-giro-ditalia-podium-finisher\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"cracking the giro d\u2019italia code: lessons from the training diary of a recent podium finisher\"}}\u0027>\n cracking the giro d\u2019italia code: lessons from the training diary of a recent podium finisher\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"f1\u2019s valtteri bottas is going to the uci gravel world championships","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/gravel\/gravel-racing\/valtteri-bottas-uci-gravel-world-championships\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/gravel\/gravel-racing\/valtteri-bottas-uci-gravel-world-championships\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"f1\u2019s valtteri bottas is going to the uci gravel world championships\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/gravel\/gravel-racing\/valtteri-bottas-uci-gravel-world-championships\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"f1\u2019s valtteri bottas is going to the uci gravel world championships\"}}\u0027>\n f1\u2019s valtteri bottas is going to the uci gravel world championships\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"mauro gianetti: tadej poga\u010dar embraces the giro-tour challenge precisely because it is very complicated","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/mauro-gianetti-tadej-pogacar-embraces-the-giro-tour-challenge-precisely-because-it-is-very-complicated\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/mauro-gianetti-tadej-pogacar-embraces-the-giro-tour-challenge-precisely-because-it-is-very-complicated\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"mauro gianetti: tadej poga\u010dar embraces the giro-tour challenge precisely because it is very complicated\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/mauro-gianetti-tadej-pogacar-embraces-the-giro-tour-challenge-precisely-because-it-is-very-complicated\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"mauro gianetti: tadej poga\u010dar embraces the giro-tour challenge precisely because it is very complicated\"}}\u0027>\n mauro gianetti: tadej poga\u010dar embraces the giro-tour challenge precisely because it is very complicated\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "}]' > >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>advertise >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>privacy policy >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>contact >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>careers >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>terms of use >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>site map >", "name": 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Ottawa's Mike Woods earns King of the Mountain honours at Tour de France

'dream come true' pulling on jersey for most points in mountain classification.

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Canadian Michael Woods survived a crash at the Tour de France on Saturday to claim the polka dot jersey as leader of the King of the Mountains classification.

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar heads into the final week of the race with a commanding advantage to retain cycling's elite title after he was unchallenged on the 14th stage won by Dutch rider Bauke Mollema.

Woods finished fifth on the 183.7-kilometre stage and sits 26th in the overall classification. But the 34-year-old from Ottawa, with 54 points, moved past Colombian Nairo Quintana in the mountain classification.

Woods joined a late breakaway, collecting points along the way to earn his Israel Start-Up Nation team its first ever Tour de France jersey.

"This is a dream come true," said Woods, who crashed on a descent but found his way back to the front group for the final climb of the day.

• Canadian rider Mike Woods finishes 3rd in Stage 8 of Tour de France in Alps

Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates stayed comfortable at or near the front of the peloton through the trek from Carcassonne to Quillan in southern France, content to let the breakaway group dispute the stage victory.

Pogacar has little trouble protecting lead

The Slovenian holds a four-minute lead over Guillaume Martin. The French rider, who was in the breakaway group, moved from ninth overall to second. Rigoberto Uran, Jonas Vingegaard and Richard Carapaz are all more than five minutes off Pogacar's pace.

• Pogacar keeps control of Tour de France, Roglic drops out
• More cycling coverage

Mollema, a rider for Trek, claimed his second career stage victory at the Tour when he broke away on the way down from the fourth of the day's five climbs. Mollema's other Tour stage win was in 2017.

Mollema set off on the windy descent through sheer gorges from the Cote de Galinagues. He quickly powered away to build an insurmountable lead and rode all alone the final 42 kilometres up and down the category-two Col de Saint-Louis.

With no opponent in sight when he crossed the line in just over four hours, Mollema had time to raise his arms and soak up the applause. Patrick Konrad edged Sergio Higuita to finish second, over a minute behind.

"I was feeling good, so I thought let's go from far," Mollema said. "I had the confidence I could ride alone and keep going for a long time. Normally I can pace myself well. When I got to the top of the last climb with 50 seconds, I knew I could make it."

On Sunday, the riders hit the Pyrenees with a 191 km ride starting in Ceret and finishing in the tiny mountain-bound nation of Andorra. The trek includes three category-one climbs. After a rest on Monday, the peloton will face three more days in the hills and mountains near the Spanish frontier.

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Canadian Michael Woods earns King of the Mountain honours at Tour de France

The Associated Press Staff

Michael Woods of Canada, wearing the best climber's dotted jersey, celebrates on the podium after the fourteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 183.7 kilometers (114.1 miles) with start in Carcassonne and finish in Quillan, France, Saturday, July 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

QUILLAN, FRANCE -- Canadian Michael Woods survived a crash at the Tour de France on Saturday to claim the polka dot jersey as leader of the King of the Mountains classification.

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar heads into the final week of the race with a commanding advantage to retain cycling's elite title after he was unchallenged on the 14th stage won by Dutch rider Bauke Mollema.

Woods finished fifth on the 183.7-kilometre stage and sits 26th in the overall classification. But the 34-year-old from Ottawa, with 54 points, moved past Colombian Nairo Quintana in the mountain classification.

Woods joined a late breakaway, collecting points along the way to earn his Israel Start-Up Nation team its first ever Tour de France jersey.

"This is a dream come true," said Woods, who crashed on a descent but found his way back to the front group for the final climb of the day.

Woods collected a point atop the top of Cote de Galinagues to take the King of the Mountain lead. He is the second Canadian to wear the polka dot jersey, following Alex Stieda in 1986.

Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates stayed comfortable at or near the front of the peloton through the trek from Carcassonne to Quillan in southern France, content to let the breakaway group dispute the stage victory.

The Slovenian holds a four-minute lead over Guillaume Martin. The French rider, who was in the breakaway group, moved from ninth overall to second. Rigoberto Uran, Jonas Vingegaard and Richard Carapaz are all more than five minutes off Pogacar's pace.

Pogacar has kept the yellow jersey since he took control of the race on Stage 8 in the Alps. With 2020 runner-up Primoz Roglic and other potential contenders out of the race, Pogacar has had little trouble protecting his advantage in the general classification over the past week.

Mollema, a rider for Trek, claimed his second career stage victory at the Tour when he broke away on the way down from the fourth of the day's five climbs. Mollema's other Tour stage win was in 2017.

Mollema set off on the windy descent through sheer gorges from the Cote de Galinagues. He quickly powered away to build an insurmountable lead and rode all alone the final 42 kilometres up and down the category-two Col de Saint-Louis.

With no opponent in sight when he crossed the line in just over four hours, Mollema had time to raise his arms and soak up the applause. Patrick Konrad edged Sergio Higuita to finish second, over a minute behind.

"I was feeling good so I thought let's go from far," Mollema said. "I had the confidence I could ride alone and keep going for a long time. Normally I can pace myself really well. When I got to the top of the last climb with 50 seconds I knew I could make it."

On Sunday, the riders hit the Pyrenees with a 191-kilometre (118-mile) ride starting in Ceret and finishing in the tiny mountain-bound nation of Andorra. The trek includes three category-one climbs. After a rest on Monday, the peloton will face three more days in the hills and mountains near the Spanish frontier.

Related Stories

• Canadian rider Michael Woods finishes third in Stage 8 of the Tour de France in the Alps
• Woods, four-time Olympian Pendrel headline Canada's cycling team for Tokyo Olympics

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Canadian rider Michael Woods finishes third in Stage 8 of the Tour de France in the Alps

Michael Woods' charge fell just short Saturday with the Canadian rider finishing third in the eighth stage of the Tour de France.

On the first big day in the mountains, Woods joined a breakaway group and made his move on the steep Col de Romme, the penultimate climb of the day.

At the top, Woods had about one minute on the first chase group. But on the slopes of the final climb, Col de la Colombiere, Belgium's Dylan Teuns came back to the front. Woods tried to hang on but was passed by Teuns and could not regain the lead in the last few hundred metres. Teuns went on to win the stage with Spain's Ion Izagirre Insausti second.

Still the 34-year-old from Ottawa earned his Israel Start-Up Nation team its first-ever podium place at the Tour.

"On the last climb, I knew that I just had to keep my own tempo not to blow up, so that's what I did," said Woods. "Teuns came back so fast and I really suffered, trying to hang on.

"I can't be disappointed though. I did the best race I possibly could. I covered as many moves as possible early on and I was aggressive. I raced to win and sometimes when you race to win, you're going to lose, but at least I tried."

It was a good day for Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, who took over the yellow jersey.

"Ah, what a ride. What a day," he said, unable to wipe the smile of satisfaction off his face.

Pogacar dealt a demoralizing blow on the first day of the Tour in the Alps when cycling's precocious star claimed the yellow jersey after what was a gruelling eighth stage to everyone else.

Pogacar started the day three minutes 43 seconds off the lead of Mathieu van der Poel. Five mountain passes and nearly four hours later, Van der Poel finished more than 20 minutes off the pace. The Dutchman relinquished the lead he had held for six days when he faded fast midway through the brutal stage.

Wout van Aert remained in second place but fell from 30 seconds behind at the start of the stage to 1 minute, 48 seconds behind Pogacar.

Richard Carapaz finished more than three minutes behind Pogacar, slipping to five minutes back overall in sixth.

Woods is 33rd overall. Astana-Premier Tech rider Hugo Houle of Sainte-Perpetue, Que., stands 49th while Montreal's Guillaume Boivin, a teammate of Woods, is 93rd.

Pogacar solidified his bid to retain his Tour title after proving once again to be a step above the rest on the most demanding ascents. He set off on his own on the fourth climb, shedding Carapaz, the last man -- and possible contender -- to have kept on his wheel.

Pogacar finished the 151-kilometre (94-mile) route from Oyonnax to Le Grand-Bornand in fourth place, seconds behind Teuns.

Teuns, who rides for the Bahrain team, managed to conserve a slim lead over the hard-pushing Pogacar over the final peak before negotiating the tricky descent to the finish line.

While almost the entire field suffered from the climbs in the rain and low temperatures, Pogacar saw the opportunity to turn the race on its head.

"In the end I felt great, so before the last two climbs I said to my teammates, 'Let's try and shake up the race,"' Pogacar said.

Shake it up? He crushed it.

On Sunday, riders face a second day in the Alps with a 145-kilometre (90-mile) ride over four passes before a summit finish at Tignes. But given the gaps, even the top teams may be focusing on stage wins or the second and third spots on the podium.

The peloton was in poor shape to hold up in the mountains after a crash-filled opening week and Friday's marathon 249-kilometre (155-mile) haul. The longest stage in the Tour in 21 years had exhausted all but a handful of riders.

And more pain was in store.

In an omen for what was to come, several cyclists were already struggling right from the start. The short ascent under steady rainfall heading into the Alpine forest broke the pack into bits.

Geraint Thomas, winner of the 2018 Tour, soon fell behind. Primoz Roglic quickly followed and his Jumbo Visma team left last year's runner-up sadly alone. Both pre-race title hopefuls, who took tumbles in the first week, completely disconnected even before the serious ascents started.

Pogacar timed his devastating attack until the category-one Col de Romme.

While other riders were hunched over the handlebars, Pogacar rode high, raising off his seat to power ahead in pursuit of the breakaway riders.

Again showing that he does not need much help from his Emirates team, Pogacar rode the final 30 kilometres up and over the category-one Col de la Colombiere all on his own.

Pogacar made Tour history by becoming the youngest post-Second World War champion at 21 last year when he stunned Roglic on the race's penultimate day, overtaking his fellow countryman with a blistering time trial.

His display on the Col de Romme and the Col de la Colombiere is poised to be remembered as the defining moment of this edition barring a dramatic change of fortune.

-- With files from The Associated Press.

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The six Canadian riders who made history at the Tour de France Feminin

Milestones from 1984 are almost forgotten.

If you think of the greatest accomplishments in Canadian cycling history, the names Lovell, Bauer, Sydor, Hesjedal and Pendrel are probably the first to come to mind. But in the summer of 1984, a group of Canadian women who had never raced together as a team arrived in Paris wide-eyed and full of optimism to compete in the first Tour de France Féminin since 1955.

By the race organizers, the athletes were treated like queens: they were put up in nice hotels and provided delicious food. By the media, the women were treated more like outcasts. Pundits seemed to believe that the delicate feminine bodies couldn’t possibly handle what was about to hit them. “I have absolutely nothing against women’s sports, but cycling is much too difficult for a woman,” five-time Tour winner Jacques Anquetil wrote in a piece for L’Equipe at the time. “They are not made for the sport. I prefer to see a woman in a short white skirt, not racing shorts.”

And by the fans—especially the hundreds of thousands of women who came out to see history being made—they were a sideshow that stole the spotlight. “It was the beginning of a new generation of women’s cycling,” says Kelly-Ann Way, who was one of the most experienced riders on Canada’s six-woman squad at the race. Way’s name rarely cracks the lists of top Canadian cycling achievements, and yet what she did on July 8, 1984 was a key moment not only for women in cycling, but proved that North Americans of both genders had the talent to compete in the world’s biggest races.

“My husband is a former cyclist as well, and he said, ‘If you were a man, you’d have lots of money,’ There were men who accomplished a quarter of what I did and ” Way trails off, clearly reflecting on the what-if. “You can be bitter about it. But, what can I do? I was just pleased that I was able to push myself to race at that level. I know what I accomplished, and no one can take that away.”

What Way accomplished alongside her five Team Canada colleagues was not only finishing the 18-stage 1984 Women’s Tour de France, but becoming the first-ever non-European to win a stage of either the men’s or women’s Tour—not that you can find that information easily online. “It doesn’t surprise me, but I find it sad,” Way says about the lack of recognition for Team Canada’s accomplishments. “It’s a piece of history of what women athletes accomplished, despite a lack of support and no funding.”

Stage 8 in the 1984 Women’s Tour was a 70-km journey from Aire-sur-l’Adour south to Pau. Up until that sunny Sunday, the race had been utterly dominated by the Dutch. The field was made up of two French teams, one U.S. squad, one British, the Canadians and the powerful group from the Netherlands. In the first week, the Dutch women won every single stage and had at least three riders in the top five in all but one stage.

But the diverse group of Canadians were never far back. While a podium eluded them in that first week, Marilyn Wells (now Marilyn Trout), a 23-year-old rider from St. Catharines, Ont., finished fifth on Stage 5 from L’Aigle to Alençon. After a rest day (the women were only permitted to race 18 stages compared with the men’s 23), Vancouver’s Suzanne Lemieux bettered Wells’ result with a fourth-place finish on Stage 6 from Condé to Nantes. “I think we were all getting tired of getting beaten by the Dutch,” Way says.

In a meeting before the 70-km Stage 8, Way told her teammates that with the race heading farther south into the foothills of the French Alps, it was the day a win was possible. “The Dutch women were very good sprinters, and because women’s racing was so big in Holland, they were used to racing as a team. They had it down to an art,” she says. “But the Stage 8 terrain was full of rolling hills, which was more conducive to me. I think it snapped the Dutch ladies’ legs a little bit.”

The plan was to attack repeatedly. The Canadians and other teams would send riders up the road over and over until something stuck or the Dutch ran out of women to cover the efforts. The two-hour stage was a furious battle. After numerous breaks failed, a group of seven riders went off the front with about 10 km to go, and it stuck. Most of the five countries competing were represented and many of the race’s top riders were present.

“We were pretty gung-ho that day,” Way says. “Hilary Matte and I were in the breakaway and with 1 km to go, I attacked. I knew it would be long enough that I would snap the legs of any sprinter who went with me.” Nobody was able to stick with Way. She crossed the finish line ahead of the Netherland’s Helene Hage, American Marianne Martin, who would go on to win the Tour, and her Canadian teammate Matte in fourth.

Way remembers the walls of people at the finish line in Pau. “One of the biggest fears the organizers had was that people wouldn’t be interested. But they had a new type of spectator out and it was the women,” she says. “I remember vividly all of these university-age girls waving signs and screaming.”

They weren’t the only ones screaming.

Matte (now Hilary Brown), who had played a major supporting role that day and throughout the Tour, was elated to see her teammate take the stage. “I was really happy we won and that we executed a plan that worked,” says Matte.

Way recalls her teammate riding up beside her after the finish line yelling that the top of her lungs, “Gagné! Gagné!”

The Canadian victory had finally ended the Dutch winning streak. Way says the Netherlands’ coach walked up to Canadian directeur sportif Michel Banos, shook his hand and said, “Thank God. I’m tired of hearing my riders bicker about who would win each day.”

But more than a moment of relief for Banos, it was an historic win. It was the first time a non-European, male or female, had won a stage of the Tour de France. It was finally enough to get the Tour some recognition in North America, with Way and the Canadians landing an interview on CBC later that night.

It was an incredible juxtaposition from two weeks earlier, when the Canadian women were racing on the backroads of Ontario’s Niagara region, trying to land a spot on the Olympic team for the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. That’s right, racing in the first-ever Women’s Tour de France was actually a consolation prize.

The five-stage Niagara Classic in late June served as the 1984 Olympic trials. More than three decades later, there’s still some confusion over exactly what riders were told pre-race about who would go to Los Angeles and who would be sent to France, but the general understanding was that the top finishers overall would end up in one of the two races. “To this day, I don’t know what their selection criteria were,” says Way. “If you talk to 10 different people, you’ll get 10 different stories.”

As the race concluded, there was some controversy when two of Canada’s top riders at the time, including the legendary Karen Strong and the reigning Canadian road racing champion, Marie-Claude Audet, didn’t finish. Strong had been hit with the flu and didn’t start the fifth stage, and Audet had crashed out of that final stage.

“On the Sunday night after the final stage, they announced who was going to the Olympics and who was going to the Tour,” Wells says, recalling some tension in the room when it was announced that Audet and Strong were both going to the Games, along with Niagara Classic overall winner, Geneviève Robic-Brunet.

Matte thinks riders were told before the Classic that the top four were going to the Olympics, but Way, who finished second overall, was sent to the Tour instead. “I should have gone to the Olympics, but there seemed to be a lot of confusion, and they kept changing the criteria. I was going and then I wasn’t, and so off to the Tour I went,” Way says.

Adds Matte, “The best went to the Olympics, and we were the B riders.”

Way eventually competed in the 1988 Olympic road race and both the road and track events at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, but she can’t help but wonder would could have been. “I would have loved for my mom to see me in the Olympics, and you always question what you could have done,” says Way, whose mother passed away in 1986. “You can’t hold on to that stuff because you’d just grow up to be a bitter person. Everything has a purpose. Maybe I needed that Tour de France in 1984 as a confidence booster to say I can perform on the international level.”

While the Canadian team of Way, Wells, Matte, Lemieux, Jacqueline Shaw and Senta Bauermeister that left for France four days after completing the Niagara Classic was hardly a cohesive unit, its members were all aware that they were part of something special. The women had to cover most of their travel expenses to get to France and supply their own bikes and spare parts. They wore their own bib shorts and were each given one single Team Canada jersey to race in. “It had to be given back at the end of the Tour,” Matte says with a laugh. But somehow it was all worth it.

“Nothing bothered us,” Wells says. “It was just so exciting to go to the Tour de France.” While treatment by the French media was awful, Wells says race organizers treated the riders like royalty. “We were treated like queens,” she says. “We were just thrilled that we got put up in a hotel and got fed. It was unheard of for a women’s race.”

After 18 stages and 1,067 km, all six Canadian women and all but one of the 36 riders who started that first-ever Women’s Tour de France rode onto the Champs-Élysées and across the finish line. “When you go around that route, you see the Arc de Triomphe you think, I’m in a movie. It was pretty phenomenal. That never leaves you,” says Wells. “I watch the Tour every year, and it never gets old. It takes you right back.”

In the end, it wasn’t the Dutch who claimed victory, but the U.S. rider Martin, who also made history by becoming the first non-European to win the overall title. Behind her, Wells was eighth, Lemieux 12th, Matte 14th, Way 20th, Bauermeister 22nd and Shaw 29th.

The six Canadians came home and went their separate ways. Some went on to accomplish even bigger things on the bike, such as Way, who rode in two Olympics and three more Women’s Tours—briefly wearing the yellow jersey during the 1989 edition.

Following the 1984 Tour, the Canadian riders were highly respected—locally at least—for what they had been able to do. “When I had first joined a cycling club, I wasn’t really welcome as a female,” says Matte. “But all of these riders I rode with were so focused on the Tour. So, when I raced in it and did well, I came home and was totally accepted after that.”

In 1982, Matte had became the first Canadian woman to finish an Ironman, and she went on to finish four more throughout the 1980s, but still considers the Tour de France Féminin the pinnacle of her athletic career. “That’s the race I’m most proud of because we were the first women to ride it, because we won a stage and because of the small role I played,” she says.

For Wells, the 1984 race was about more than the order of names on a results sheet. “We were guinea pigs. I remember one quote saying, ‘These women won’t get to the finish without a casualty. It’s not made for women. Someone will probably die,'” she says. “We were there representing something bigger than ourselves.”

Despite the historic nature of the accomplishment, little information can be found about that first race, especially in Canada, where the achievements of the six riders from across the country who did something no other non-Europeans had ever done is rarely mentioned. “We didn’t do it for the praise, but it’s not even in the history books,” Wells says. “It was never showcased, and it gets smaller and smaller as time goes on.”

But it’s hard to argue the role their involvement played in opening doors for future generations of women in cycling. Wells calls it a stepping stone for where women’s cycling is today. Way says they were pioneers for riders such as Clara Hughes. “It just validated us as athletes and showed that if you throw something at us, we can do it,” Way says. “We were just happy to have a stage race in a theatre like the Tour de France.”

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