Mike Woods‘ time on the bike with current team EF Pro Cycling may be just days away from ending but the Canadian showed again on Wednesday in the Vuelta a España he is determined to go out on as high a note as possible.
Second on stage 6 at Formigal, the winner at Orduña 24 hours later, and also working hard to protect teammate and GC option Hugh Carthy on mountain stages like the Angliru, Woods got in a very solid seven-rider break en route to Ourense on stage 14, one of the Vuelta’s tougher transition stages.
One of the strongest riders in the move and able to pull back time after the group split on a late descent, Woods was narrowly out-powered at the line in a technical uphill finale by Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal). Woods said afterwards that a mis-calculation about a late lefthand bend played no small part in his defeat.
“I knew it was turning and that’s why I wanted to be on the front with 200 metres to go,” Woods told Cyclingnews afterwards, “but I didn’t expect it to turn as hard as it did.
“And so even though Wellens got in front of me [going into the corner], I was hoping I could still come around him.” Indeed, Woods tried to do exactly that as the two came round the final sharp bend, but as the saying goes, the line arrived too quickly for the Canadian to get back on terms.
On the plus side, Woods had come impressively close to victory in what was a dauntingly powerful break. It included not only Wellens but also riders as well-known as former Paris-Nice winner Marc Soler (Movistar) and Classics expert Zdenek Stybar (Deceuninck-QuickStep) as well as Ineos-Grenadiers’ Dylan Van Baarle, one of Richard Carapaz’s top domestiques in this year’s Vuelta.
Two more riders, 20-year-old Thymen Arensman (Team Sunweb), who is riding a hugely impressive first-ever Grand Tour and already third behind Wellens in the first week in another break, along with the formidably experienced French racer Pierre-Luc Périchon (Cofidis). They showed their strength, as well, by bridging across soon after the original move had formed.
“It was one of the better breaks I’ve ever been in,” Woods said, “I’ve rarely been in a move with that level quality of rider and you felt it. It was heart-rate racing all day, we were just crunching it. I think even though you wanted to win, there was a good feeling in general – after the stage we were all giving each other fist-bumps.”
In an intensely tactical finale, on the last ascent of the day, the third category Alto de Abeilaira positioned 22 kilometres from the line, the Canadian opened up the round of late attacks.
“I was on the front and I just got a gap and I tried to capitalize on it, it was similar to how I went on stage 7,” Woods told Cyclingnews. “Someone just let the wheel go a bit and I went for it, I figured maybe only one or two guys would get across.
“But because everyone was a winner there, everyone fought to come back. And then on the descent, I made the mistake of getting behind Dylan and the rider from Sunweb [Arensman], so I was last onto the the descent.”
“Stybar”, riding an aero-bike, so clearly a man on a mission, “opened a gap on the descent and Dylan and the Sunweb rider weren’t able to follow. I could get around the Sunweb guy, but not around Dylan and then the gap was open by then.
“Wellens, Soler and Stybar capitalized on that and then it was three”, with Woods, Arensman and Van Baarle chasing and Périchon dropped, “against three for almost nine kilometres,” back into the centre of Ourense for the final showdown.
“We were all riding full gas and we were able to make it back. It was touch and go, but I figured if we kept on riding hard we had a shot.”
The final shoot-out with Wellens did not go Woods’ way, but as Woods said, looking at the global picture, EF are riding a notably successful race in Spain
“This has been the best performance in a Grand Tour I’ve been a part of with EF,” said Woods, who has racked up three Vueltas, two Giros and a Tour with the American team since he joined in 2016.
“We’ve had two stage wins, I’ve had two second places and now Hugh is sitting in third overall right now. It’s really nice, the morale’s high and I think the way Hugh’s riding, we’re confident he can protect that podium position as well. It’s a really nice place for the team to be.”
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
