Michael Woods Wins Queen Stage and Takes Overall Lead in La Route d’Occitanie
Michael Woods of Israel – Premier Tech claimed victory in the queen stage of La Route d’Occitanie, securing his position as the new overall leader of the race. Woods praised his team for their exceptional performance, with special recognition to teammate Stevie Williams. Woods stated, “The whole team rode incredibly well. I’m really proud to finish it off for the guys and to take the leader’s jersey”.
The challenging mountain top finish made today’s stage a crucial one for the general classification (GC) riders. As the reigning champion, Woods was determined to replicate his success from last year. Israel – Premier Tech took control of the race early on and, with the help of Chris Froome, caught the remaining riders of the morning breakaway at the bottom of the final climb.
Stevie Williams played a pivotal role in thinning out the group on the early slopes, and Domenico Pozzovivo increased the pace further, leaving only a small number of riders in the GC group with 10 kilometers remaining. Woods made multiple attacks in the final kilometers, with only Cristian Rodriguez of Team Arkea Samsic able to keep up. However, Woods made a final acceleration in the last few hundred meters, leaving Rodriguez behind and crossing the finish line first at the top of Nistos Cap Nestes.
With his victory, Woods now leads the general classification by nine seconds over Rodriguez. Pozzovivo sits in fifth place overall. The race concludes with the final stage on Sunday.
