"I'm on cloud 9 right now. My big goal was to win a race with this Canadian jersey. I've had a tough season this year with illness and I'll have a tough race with some bad luck, a lot of mechanicals, crashes and mistimed moments. So, this is a big moment of cartharsis, a big moment of relief. The pressure has been building and to get this win now, I'm on cloud 9.
"I was supper lucky to get in the break with Dylan Teuns, and Riley Sheehan did a great job and helped me a lot to get into the break. I was a bit isolated later on when we had Jay Vine, Brandon McNulty and Marc Soler attack me but I just tried to keep fighting with them. Then when Brandon and Jay crashed it really scared me and I hope they're ok, but I knew that I was the guy to beat on that climb.
"I had Puy de Dome in the back of my head. I knew that as long as I was in striking distance of the other guys, I had a shot of winning on the final climb because it's a good climb for me. I didn't want to go as early as I did but with Mauro Schmid attacking me, I had to go then. It was a long four kilometers.
"It's my third Vuelta stage win and I'm really proud of that. Just the Giro d'ltalia stage win is missing. I'm not getting any younger so it's always nice to win at this age. I'm going to savour this one."
-Mike Woods
Four Grand Tour wins!
Inspiration: The iconic 1976 Canada Cup Team Canada jersey.
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