PARIS-CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES-He will miss one of the four Canadians at the start of the 21e and last stage of the Tour de France on Sunday near Paris.
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Michael Woods has tested positive for Covid and will not be able to participate in the 115 kilometer stage which connects Paris La Défense Arena to the Champs-Élysées.
This announcement is heartbreaking for the cyclist who will not be able to celebrate three weeks of intense effort.
It is also another loss for the Israel-Premier Tech team, reduced to just four riders today. Fortunately, the Tour is over.
Chris Froome and Simon Clarke have already quit for the same reason, while Denmark’s Jakob Fuglsang retired through injury.
That leaves Hugo Houle, Guillaume Boivin, Guy Niv, and Krists Neilands.
Michael Woods, 35, was 36e in the general classification, 2h20m50s from the yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma).
He ranked 3e of the 16e stage in Foix behind his compatriot and team-mate Hugo Houle and the Frenchman Valentin Madouas.
Woods is the 17e runner who had to leave the Grande Boucle because of the coronavirus.
At the beginning of the afternoon on Sunday, the women’s Tour de France was launched before the arrival of the men.
Disputed between 1984 and 2009, the event returns after twelve years of absence until July 31, 2022.
Photo by Jean-Francois Racine
Women’s Tour de France, Sunday July 24, 2022, near Paris.
Quebecers Simone Boilard, Olivia Baril and Magdeleine Vallières-Mill are taking part in the event, each with a different team.
A few hours before the first pass of the peloton around 6 p.m. (12 p.m. Quebec time), the Champs-Élysées are already invaded by tens of thousands of people and the crowd continues to grow.
The weather is beautiful and Danish fans with the red and white flag are everywhere to cheer the future champion of the Tour de France 2022, Jonas Vingegaard.