This time final yr Michael Woods was making ready to race his ultimate Tour de France, however regardless of now being retired from skilled street racing he actually is not placing his ft up this yr both. The Canadian is embracing a brand new check, racing greater than 200 miles throughout the Flint Hills of Kansas at Unbound Gravel.
“I raced professional for ten years on the street however I have been following the game of gravel for a very long time now and I’ve all the time been actually excited about it, and that is the most important gravel occasion on this planet in order that’s why I am right here,” Woods instructed Cyclingnews in Emporia forward of taking to the beginning line on Saturday. “I need to see what it is all about, check myself.
“I am a bit nervous for it. I have not completed a race or a trip this lengthy ever in my life so I am excited to simply go into the unknown a bit.”
It’s not the primary gravel race that Woods has taken on, along with his efforts within the self-discipline this yr together with the 111km lengthy UCI Gravel World Sequence occasion The Gralloch, the place he got here seventh, and The Traka 200 – which is round 200 kilometres, not 200 miles just like the Unbound 200.
“I really feel like I am woefully underprepared, however I am trending in the correct path. I am sport fitter with each race,” mentioned Woods when requested about his type. “I did not have a cycling-specific construct as much as the beginning of this yr. I used to be SkiMo racing [Ski Mountaineering], and I have been additionally attempting to concentrate on being a little bit of a greater dad so I am not on the bike as a lot as I would wish to be from a efficiency perspective. However I am having a blast doing the coaching that I am doing and doing the racing that I am doing.”
“It will be attention-grabbing to see how I maintain up for this race, the longest race. The longest trip I’ve completed is The Traka this yr, which was for me simply over six hours, not the 9 plus or 10 hours that that is going to be, so undoubtedly these ultimate three hours might be an enormous check of endurance however you by no means know – hopefully I can do effectively.”
Regardless of his biking pedigree on the street the rider, with three Vuelta a España stage victories to his identify and 13 Grand Tour begins, is not taking something without any consideration.
When requested what he would deem successful on the occasion his response was, “ending – I am severe”.
“I imply I’ve completed a number of the largest races, however it is a lengthy race,” mentioned Woods. “I’ve heard about so many mechanicals. I’ve a variety of pals who’ve flown out right here from Europe and completed this race and by no means completed simply due to breaking a derailleur or having a flat, so for me the large goal is first to complete.”
Although that does not imply he nonetheless would not have an eye fixed to outcomes past that overriding main objective.
“Getting a prime 10 could be tremendous cool too,” mentioned Woods.
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