Canadian cyclist Michael Woods has won Israel-Premier Tech’s first Tour de France stage of the 2023 race, becoming one of the oldest men to ever take a stage victory.

Woods, who only turned to cycling nine years ago at the late age of 27, won the ninth stage of the famous race atop the mythical Puy de Dôme, an 11,000-year-old dormant volcano in the Massif Central region of France becoming the first athlete ever to have both run a four-minute mile and won a stage of the Tour de France.

Israel-Premier Tech’s team owner, the Israeli-Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams, said that while there would be celebrations at the team hotel that evening, the team would be looking to not just equal last year’s record of two Tour stage wins but eclipse their previous best race result.

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Canadian Michael Woods of Israel-Premier Tech celebrates on the podium after winning stage 9 of the Tour de France cycling race, a 182,4 km race from Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat to Puy de Dome, France, Sunday 09 July 2023. This year's Tour de France takes place from 01 to 23 July 2023. BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM (Photo by DIRK WAEM / BELGA MAG / Belga via AFP)

“I’m so happy for Mike,” Adams said. “It’s a great feeling to finish the first week of the Tour with a victory. There will be quite a nice celebration at the hotel tonight, and the rest day tomorrow will certainly be festive. And, we have two more weeks to hunt for more success. We won two stages last year. How nice would it be to exceed that lofty result?

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L'chaim: Sylvan Adams (centre) with the Israel team

"Due to my long personal relationship with Mike and the other Canadians on our team, I couldn’t be more proud. One of the best days ever for the team. Y’alla!”

Woods was part of a large group that escaped up the road to fight for the stage win, who then had to successfully claw back and catch the lone leader American Matteo Jorgenson.

In Woods’ support car behind as he climbed the volcano, the team’s sports director Rik Verbrugghe bluffed and told the Canadian he was only one minute behind Jorgenson, not the actual two minutes, to avoid the 36-year-old losing hope.

Israel - Premier Tech arrived at the Tour this year with the goal of winning at least one stage, no easy feat for a relatively new team.

“I’m still having a pinch-myself moment,” Woods said after the finish, a less busy affair than usual as the narrow road leading up to the summit restricted the number of cars and fans allowed up. “I can’t believe I made it. I’m really proud of myself and proud of my team. It’s special.”

“I’m 36 years old, 37 this year, not getting any younger,” Woods continued of finally achieving his dream of a Tour stage win.

“I’ve always talked about winning a stage at the Tour de France and I finally achieved it. So fortunate to have so many good people behind me – my family, my team, Sylvan Adams, my parents, my wife, my kids, they’ve all supported me, I’ve had some tough times the past few years. I’m back on top and really proud.”