From the Tour to skimo: After low-key retirement, Michael Woods eyes new challenges

Michael Woods has announced that he will compete in a range of endurance disciplines in 2026 following his retirement from cycling at the end of last season.

The Canadian has signalled that he intends to line up in triathlon, gravel and MTB marathon events this year, while he will also sample ski mountaineering, or skimo, which makes its debut as an Olympic sport this year.

Woods spent the last five seasons of his professional career with Israel-Premier Tech before announcing his retirement last summer. The Tour de France would prove to be his final pro race as a hernia operation ruled him out of the Grands Prix de Québec et Montréal in September.

Despite that setback, Woods is determined to compete on two wheels in other disciplines in 2026, expressing a desire to put himself “outside his comfort zone.”

“At 39, I feel as though, physically, I have a few more years left in the tank,” Woods wrote on his personal website on Tuesday. “I had a contract for the next season, but to do another year in the WorldTour would have been a disservice to this mantra. I want to challenge myself again. I want to put myself outside of my comfort zone and try to compete in and against the best endurance athletes across a range of disciplines.” 

Woods is not the first former WorldTour rider to turn to the gravel circuit, while Greg Van Avermaet has already enjoyed remarkable success in triathlon, winning the Half Ironman world title in the 40-44 age group in Marbella last November.

The Canadian will also add MTB marathon and skimo to his schedule, and he said he would be backed in his endeavour by sponsors including Ventum bikes.

“The aim is to see how, after 15 years of building an aerobic base in one sport, I stack up against the best endurance athletes across a number of disciplines. Pierra Menta, Ironman, Leadville, Unbound, and many other events will feature on my calendar,” wrote Woods.

Writing on his website on Tuesday, Woods confessed to disappointment that his career had ended “with a whimper,” noting that he hadn’t realised the final stage of the Tour would be his final act as a pro rider. 

“Since I started cycling at such a late age and never envisioned riding for as long as I did, the idea of retirement was something I was constantly aware of,” he wrote. “Having also lived a life outside of the sport and dealt with the end of another sporting career, I was confident that my retirement would only bring me great satisfaction. Instead, it brought the opposite.”

Describing his low-key retirement as “a funeral without a casket,” the former runner quickly decided to embark on a new athletic challenge. “I could only sulk around for so long, and as I got over a poor ending to one career, I started hatching plans for another.”