Former Michigan runner Mike Woods in Tour de France
It doesn't look like anyone has posted this (or at least my searches didn't find it): former Michigan runner Mike Woods is now a pro cyclist, and is currently competing in his first Tour de France at the age of 32.
https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/cycling/mike-woods-tour-de-france-1.5201371
https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a28382640/mike-woods-tour-de-france/
And some background from a couple of years ago that gets into his sport switch:
https://www.businessinsider.com/michael-rusty-woods-runner-cyclist-2017-5
He ran a 3:57.48 mile when he was 18, and at Michigan was on the relay squad that set the national collegiate record in the 4 x mile at the Penn Relays (16:04.54, with Andrew Ellerton, Nate Brannen, and Nick Willis). I do wonder whether any other TdF racer has ever run a sub-4 mile...
He was in the top ten until a crash/mechanical issue knocked him back. He'll probably take a shot at a breakaway stage win this week with all of his team's riders out of the top ten.
The Tour has been fantastic this year, BTW. Ineos, the former team Sky, hasn't been able to control the field well, and while they have two guys fighting for the lead, Julian Alaphilippe has used smart riding and aggressive attacking to snag the lead, and stunningly won the time trial today, giving him a lead that might be enough to win it all. But with the longer mountains coming up Ineos might be able to grind him down, and Geraint Thomas continues to show late-climb strength which could allow him to chip into the lead in the last week.
Geraint is winning the Tour. Book it
Possibly. But the TT was his big chance to carve into Alaphilippe's lead and he lost time. The Ineos train may be able to drop Alaphilippe up some of the long, grinding climbs coming in the final week (tomorrow up the Tourmalet, for example) and Thomas as some pop to sprint for time bonuses, but this is a lot different than the usual Sky steamroll. They're in a very strange position: behind.
That means that they actually have to take the initiative to crack Alaphilippe. In past Sky years it has been other riders that have been forced to throw down futile attacks that Sky would promptly shut down. Only on rare occasions would Froome be isolated, and of course he was a terrific climber in his own right.
Unless Ineos can drop Alaphilippe with the train (possible), Thomas is going to have to attack and try to drop him. Long attacks have not, in the past, been his game.
It's going to be a lot of fun to watch.
Yep, at a minimum we’re headed for a really interesting final week. Refreshing after the last few years of Sky processions.
Alaphilippe has a long long way to go. If he survives this weekend with the yellow he's got a chance, but the Tour just started in earnest.
I was looking for a US cyclist to root for, but I'm afraid they are all WAY back. Woods is Canadian, so I guess I can root for him.
EDIT
Woods is at 52.
US cyclists:
85 - Joseph Rosskopf
92 - Benjamin King
160 - Chad Haga
US cycling has taken a step back since Lance.
There was a local cyclist, Alexey Vermuelen, who seemed to be on his way to being able to compete in the Tour. He actually was in the lead of the World Championships two years ago for a bit.
As for him - not sure about his mile, but I know he was one of the top cross country runners in the state before he went professional
Any even remotely high overall ranking is probably not in the cards for the US this year, especially with Teejay crashing out. There's an outside chance someone gets a stage win from a breakaway.
Personally, I've never understood why people feel a need to cheer for the Americans in events like this. I mean sure, if they're local guys from Michigan I get that. But if they're from like, Oklahoma, Florida, Oregon, what do I care? Hurray, we hold the same passport?
It's sports, it's not that big of a deal. I'll cheer for any athlete if I feel like they have a compelling enough story. Now since Woods went to my school, that is a reason to root for him. I don't care what his nationality is.
Got it. So you feel no particular connection with your country. No problem. But don't discount those that do who are fans of "sports like this." We enjoy seeing those who represent our country do well. You seem to think people who do, do so to the exclusion of all others. You're wrong. I have family connections to Italy and so I enjoy rooting for cyclists there. According to you we should just throw a dart at a list and cheer for whoever it hits.
Mike Cox is doing pretty well too. Bigger than ever...
Alaphilippe is awesome. Hope he can keep it up.
Imagine if our best athletes were cyclists instead of playing football or basketball. We would absolutely dominate the world of cycling.
Seriously, why aren't we (the US) more competitive in international cycling?
Really! We have athletes that don't play in the "Big 4”. We have mountains. We have the trainers and equipment and the money.
I'm baffled why the US doesn't put out more higher-level competition in cycling than we currently do.
I'm baffled why the US doesn't put out more higher-level competition in <insert sport here> than we currently do.
You can pretty much replace that with any sport, the most popular of which is probably soccer. Imagine if all of our top athletes were into soccer instead of football.
As a former cyclist (I raced for UM), the number of friends and fellow competitors that have been hit by cars is alarming, so that has to limit how may parents would let their kids out on the roads. That and the fact that wearing spandex isn't exactly "cool" are pretty high barriers to entry for kids growing up. The amount of training required is intense as well and a lot of people burn out.
All of that said, the US does have a couple of youngsters coming up worth keeping an eye on, but they're not quite there yet.