Michael Woods of Toronto, Ontario won the bronze medal on Sunday at the 2018 World Road Cycling Championships in Innsbruck, Austria. The podium finish was Woods’s greatest achievement in his career as a cyclist.
Alejandro Valverde of Spain won the gold medal and Romain Bardet of France won the silver medal. In a tight finish, Valverde, Bardet, Woods and Tom Dumoulin of the Netherlands, who finished in fourth place, all had a time of six hours, 46 minutes and 41 seconds.
Woods became the second Canadian in the history of the World Road Cycling Championship to win a medal in the men’s road race. At the 1984 World Road Cycling Championship in Barcelona, Steve Bauer of St. Catharines, Ontario won the bronze medal behind gold medalist Claude Criquielion of Belgium and silver medalist Claudio Corti of Italy.
Three other Canadians earned a medal at the 2018 World Road Cycling Championship in Barcelona. Karol-Ann Canuel of Amos, Quebec was part of the team that won a silver medal in the women’s team time trial, while Leah Kirchmann of Winnipeg, Manitoba was part of the Canadian team that won the bronze medal in the women’s team time trial. Meanwhile, Simone Boilard of Quebec City, Quebec won the bronze medal in the women’s junior road race.