The former Canadian professional has officially closed his road cycling career at the end of last Tour de France.

As he himself recounted on his blog, Michael Woods had expected to end his career differently from how things actually turned out. The Canadian, formerly with Israel-Premier Tech, last year at the final act of his decade-long road cycling career, had imagined hanging up his bike after the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, in front of friends and family, after challenging the current world champion Tadej Pogacar on roads dear to him - a scenario very different and decidedly more satisfying than what ultimately materialized.

Instead of a celebratory farewell, with hugs, goodbyes and a refreshing "beer on Rue St. Catherine", Woods was faced with a hospital bed, medical staff discussions, and a pain caused by an inguinal hernia that could no longer be ignored, which would soon force him to undergo surgery, inevitably ending his grand retirement dreams.

This sad conclusion, in the phases following the surgical procedure he underwent, left the 2018 World Road Championships bronze medalist with considerable bitterness and dissatisfaction, a state of mind that, briefly, led him to consider new scenarios while satisfying his still-alive desire for competition.

"Life is meant to be lived, not spent dwelling on what could have been. I am firmly convinced that one of the most beautiful things one can do is challenge oneself by stepping out of one's comfort zone: fifteen years ago I did it with cycling, and the seasons that followed turned out to be among the most exciting and satisfying of my life," Woods wrote on his blog, explaining what pushed him, once recovered from the operation, to embrace new challenges.

"Now, at 39, physically I feel I still have a few years ahead of me. I had a contract for the next season, but racing another year in the World Tour would have betrayed this mantra because what I want is to challenge myself again, placing myself outside my comfort zone and trying to compete with some of the best endurance athletes in other disciplines," explained the thirty-nine-year-old from Toronto before introducing the details of the project, called Way to Race, to which he chose to dedicate himself in 2026.

"In collaboration with Ventum Bikes and some wonderful sponsors, throughout 2026 I will tackle a series of endurance sports: triathlon, gravel, MTB marathon and ski mountaineering. The intent is to see, after 15 years of building an aerobic base in a single sport, how I position myself against the best endurance athletes in various disciplines. Pierra Menta, Ironman, Leadville, Unbound and many other competitions will be on my calendar."

With one chapter closed, that of road cycling (a discipline he approached very late after distinguishing himself in middle-distance running), a new one has opened for Woods, rich in both stimulating and demanding challenges and questions.

"Will my body withstand an Ironman? How will a World Tour professional perform in the world of social media and 'independent' influencers? What are the difficulties of ski mountaineering, which is about to debut at the Olympic Games? Is the Tour de France really the most complicated endurance event in the world? These are just some of the questions I hope to find answers to during 2026," concluded the winner at Puy de Dome in the 2023 Tour de France, inviting fans and his supporters to follow the updates, discoveries, and reflections he will provide through his platforms in the coming months.