As Mike Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) closed in on Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) on the upper slopes of the Puy de Dôme, French TV commentators could not stop repeating how brilliantly the Canadian climbing veteran had managed to time his ascent of the brutally difficult climb.
“He was two minutes down on Jorgenson at the bottom and he’s going to get come past him just in time near the top to win,” they pointed out.
That much was true. But as Woods told reporters after becoming the first non-European to triumph on the Puy de Dôme in the race’s 12 ascents, his managing to catch Jorgenson was not something he had calculated on being able to do. In fact, up until that point, just the opposite was true.
“I wish I could say it was all planned, I had wanted to be up front with Jorgenson when he attacked,” Woods said. “But it was just the way the cards played out.”
“I knew I was probably the most marked man in the group and didn’t play my cards super right. When I got to four kilometres to go” – and the steepest part of the ascent – “I didn’t even think about the win, just about time trialling it all the way to the top and getting the best result I could.”
When Johnny Weltz won on the Puy de Dôme back in 1988, the last time the Tour tackled the race, the Dane was a second-year pro. 35 years on, Woods admitted that at 36, he wasn’t quite inside the last chance saloon to get a Tour de France stage, but as he put it
“I was starting to feel the window was closing. But this was my career goal, the greatest result I’ve ever had.”
“I’m turning 37 this year, so I’m not getting any younger. And that the dream has come true now – I’m super proud and really grateful. I feel so fortunate to have so many great people behind – my family, my wife, my parents, my team…”
Woods said that the experience of racing on the Puy de Dôme, bereft of fans in the interests of nature conservation, both took him back to the years of COVID-19, when roadside supporters were also barred from the race, and to his first of two Vuelta a España wins, on the brutally steep Balcon de Bizkaia climb deep in the Basque Country.
“The thing was, it was deafening up to five kilometres to go, and then when the barriers started, it was silence, you were alone with your thoughts, trying to pick off the guys one by one.”
“It was a really cool climb, you could see it from ways away, it was so unique because there were no fans. It was almost like COVID racing a few years ago – so a beautiful climb, really cool climb.”
The rolling approach through central France, and then the ascent of the Puy de Dôme brought back memories of his 2018 Vuelta a España stage duel against Dylan Teuns five years ago at BMC, but now a teammate with Woods, racing alongside the Canadian at the Tour.
“Today was possibly one of the hardest climbs I could do, everybody was riding so hard throughout and we had those attacks from 60 kilometres to go. In 2018 in the Vuelta, when Teuns attacked I had to come back on him and suffer through those final metres. So in that sense, it was like the Puy de Dôme today.”
Woods was interrupted at one point during his press conference by Israel teammates Simon Clark – himself a stage winner in last year’s Tour – and fellow Canadian Hugo Houle, giving a victory hug and recounting how the race radio blackout on the Puy de Dôme had prevented them from knowing he had won.
But Woods delight at his first Tour de France triumph, and Israel-Premier Tech’s first WorldTour win of the 2023 season into the bargain, was plain to see in any case. And to take it on an ascent as mythical as Puy de Dôme only made it even more special.
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.
