Michael Woods did well to keep his lead in the general classification to win Route d’Occitanie 2022 overall this Sunday.
With strong crosswinds expected, it was no surprise to see the race blow apart on the last day of the French stage race. The Israel – Premier Tech riders were always well-positioned near the front and when the peloton split up into several groups with 70 km to go, both Carl Fredrik Hagen and Woods were in the select group of riders getting away.
The front group worked well together all the way towards the finishing line and Woods had no problems defending his overall lead as the stage finished with a sprint from the reduced group.
Hagen moved up to 14th place in the final classification after today’s strong performance.
Michael Woods: “This is the first stage race I have won in my career. I’m really happy with the result and really pleased with the teamwork. I always felt protected. We had Cole [Kessler] riding at the front at the start of the race and then Guy [Sagiv] and Taj [Jones] did an amazing job putting me in position in the crosswind. Carl [Fredrik Hagen] did great to be in that small group at the end and just help me and be with me for the rest of the race. I’m really happy and I’m really excited for the Tour de France now!”
