Canada's Woods wins La Route d’Occitanie for second year in a row

SAINT-GIRONS, France — Canadian Michael Woods won La Route d’Occitanie for the second year in a row Sunday.

The 36-year-old from Ottawa had moved into first place by winning Saturday's penultimate third stage. He finished 18th in Sunday's stage to finish atop the general classification by 10 seconds over Spain's Cristián Rodríguez.

Britain's Simon Carr won Sunday's 64.7-kilometre stage.

“It’s really special to win this race overall for a second time," said Woods. "This is an area I really like, not far from my home in Andorra, and to have my family and kids there to watch me win on Father’s Day was something really special.”

On the final climb of the day, the peloton thinned out once more, leaving just a handful of riders in the group including Woods and Israel-Premier Tech teammate Stevie Williams.

“I’m really happy with this race," said Woods. "My form is good and I’m super-excited for the Tour (de France) now. I’m ready to go.”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2023