Michael Woods' retirement takes unexpected turn with Montréal Worlds return

Michael Woods will return to road racing at the UCI road race world championships in Montréal, Canada, less than a month before his 40th birthday and more than a year after announcing his retirement. 

Woods retired from road racing at the end of the Tour de France in July 2025, before turning his hand to gravel racing. The 39-year-old made a road return in June at the national championships, finishing seventh in the road race, three seconds behind winner Jérôme Gauthier. 

He will now line up at his home worlds alongside Derek Gee-West, Pier-André Côté, Hugo Houle, Michael Leonard, and Nickolas Zukowsky. 

“I really wanted to end my career in Montréal. I didn’t do that last year due to a hernia. I ended up getting surgery for that and it wasn’t the ending to my career that I wanted.” Woods told Canadian Cycling Magazine. 

Woods will first race the Leadville 100 mountain bike race, alongside Quinn Simmons, before turning his attention to the road. He’ll race the GP Québec and GP Montréal before the world championships, where he will take on a support role for his former trade teammate Gee-West.

“The big focus is going to be on Derek [Gee-West],” Woods said. “I think I have the ability to go deep into the race and support him. It’d be really special to get a Canadian in the top 10 on home soil.”

The last road world championships hosted in Canada were back in 2003 in Hamilton, where Igor Astarloa claimed victory in the elite men’s road race ahead of Alejandro Valverde. Meanwhile, Woods was just two years from setting national records in the mile and 3000m on the running track, and claiming gold in the 1500m at the Pan American junior championships in 2005. 

Woods has participated in the elite men’s road race world championships six times previously. His best result came in 2018, when he finished third in a four-up sprint for victory behind Valverde and Romain Bardet.