Until a few days ago, that is.

During my lunchtime viewing of stage 3 of the Tour Down Under this week my ears perked up when Papa Phil and Paul Sherwen finally figured out who the guy in the Cannondale kit leading the pack up Corkscrew Hill was – ‘The Canadian Michael Woods’.

Woods finished 3rd in the sprint that day and just completed the TDU in 5th place overall. This, in his first ever race on a World Tour team. A flash in the pan? One tour wonder? We’ll see, but since he’s a fellow Canadian, and I won’t be winning any races this year, I wanted to bring him to your attention.

Woods, like Hesjedal before him, has come to road racing late in life. He’s 29 and only started riding seriously 4 years ago. He was a world-class runner before coming to his senses, so he at least had the ‘lungs’ sorted out.

Woods is a climber (5’9 – 140 lbs), but he looked like he has a good turn of speed on him as well, if the sprint on Stage 3 is any indication. He’s also an aspiring blogger, who can spin a good yarn and uses even more commas than me, which I kinda like.

http://rustywoodscycling.com/blog/

P.S