Tour de France 2021 – ‘Battered, bruised, unbowed’ – Chris Froome's teammate Michael Woods has ‘lucky’ crash

ByBen Snowball

Updated 10/07/2021 at 15:23 GMT

“I think that will go down as a lucky crash, if you can possibly have such a thing,” claimed Carlton Kirby after two riders headed for a grass verge to avoid colliding with a helpless Woods. You can watch the Tour de France live and ad-free on the Eurosport app and Eurosport.co.uk. Download the Eurosport app for iOS and Android now

Michael Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation) had a “lucky” crash on Stage 14 at the Tour de France.

The Canadian was in the breakaway when he hit the deck on a descent with 50km remaining on the run from Carcassonne to Quillan, sliding out across the road as two riders were forced into evasive action.

The 34-year-old quickly returned to his bike and set off in pursuit of the leaders – albeit gingerly approaching the corners as he looked to avoid a repeat incident. He soon latched back onto the front group when the road levelled out.

Route d'Occitanie

Woods jumps away from Rodriguez to win Stage 3 of Route d'Occitanie

00:01:31

|

17/06/2023 at 14:21

• 'No sprinter will beat his record' - Wiggins lauds Cavendish's historic achievement
• Cavendish equals Merckx record of 34 Tour stage wins with historic victory
• Cavendish has achieved 'comeback of comebacks' with 34th win

“He’s got away with that, I think it’s fair to say,” said Carlton Kirby on Eurosport commentary.

“Battered, bruised but unbowed. I think that will go down as a lucky crash, if you can possibly have such a thing.”

The day had started superbly for Woods, who had got himself in the breakaway and taken the lead in the KOM classification.

Woods is leading ISN at the Tour as teammate Chris Froome, a four-time champion in France, steps up his return as road captain.

“Not ideal at all, it just goes to show that the road surfaces in this part of the world aren’t brilliant,” added Brian Smith on his crash.

Watch a special embrace between Cavendish and Wiggins

- - -

You can watch the Tour de France live and ad-free on the Eurosport app and Eurosport.co.uk. Download the Eurosport app for iOS and Android now. You can also watch the most comprehensive live & ad-free racing on GCN+. Go deeper and get interactive with live polls & quizzes, plus rider profiles, race updates, results & more – plus stream exclusive cycling documentaries.

Tour de France

'Nothing is ever too much for him' - Froome full of praise for 'selfless' Houle after emotional win

20/07/2022 at 10:48

Tour de France

‘Never experienced an atmosphere quite like this’ – Froome relishing Tour de France

30/06/2022 at 14:42

Tour de France

Tour de France team guide: Star riders, memorable moments, which French food are they?

01/07/2022 at 11:48