Canadian Michael Woods won the fifth stage of the men’s virtual Tour de France on Saturday after performing well on Mont Ventoux and finishing ahead of NTT Pro Cycling duo Domenico Pozzovivo and Louis Meintjes.
The virtual race takes place on the popular Zwift training platform after the COVID 19 pandemic forced the actual annual July race to be postponed to the end of August.
EF Pro Cycling’s Woods, which broke its leg in a fall in Paris-Nice in March, dominated from the start and won the 22-kilometer simulation in 46 minutes, three seconds and 18 seconds ahead of Pozzovivo.
“This is a big event for us. Zwift is a great platform. We wanted a win and we finally have one,” said Woods, an Ottawa native.
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– @ Leave ours
“Both Pozzovivo and Meintjes are super strong drivers. Usually you can look them in the eye in a race and see how they are doing … I just hoped they would crack much earlier than them. Luckily I was it will be able to keep it going. “
Woods increased the intensity over the last seven kilometers, dropped Meintjes four minutes before the end and raced 3 1/2 kilometers away from the goal of Pozzovivo.
“I think Switch Racing is a much more sustainable effort,” added Woods. “I think that’s why I have so much success. It’s much more similar to running.”
Before the last stage on Sunday, NTT is still at the top on the Champs-Elysees.
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