Mike Woods becomes first person to run sub-4 mile and finish the Tour de France

Canadian Mike Woods became the first person ever to finish the Tour de France and run a sub-four-minute mile on Sunday. Woods told Cycling News he’s pretty certain of that statistic. Woods rode his first Tour this year and came up short of his goal of winning a stage, but persevered through some serious setbacks.

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Dealing with crashes and subsequent broken ribs, the Tour debutant was prominent in the final week’s breakaways, finishing seventh on Stage 17 which brought himself up to 32nd in the general classification. He also finished 15th in the King of the Mountains competition.

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Now 32 and in his fourth year as a pro rider, Woods was relatively old when he joined the circuit. After high school, Woods went on to run for the University of Michigan, but suffered repeated injuries to his foot that ultimately led him to call it a career. While Woods was injured, he regularly took to the bike as a form of cross-training. What began as a means to an end for running has turned into one of the most successful cycling careers in Canadian history. Woods was a bronze medalist at the 2018 Road World Championships and won a stage of last year’s Vuelta a Espana, a grand tour where riders often find success before moving to the stronger Tour field.

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Woods has held the Canadian U20 mile record (3:57.48) since 2005. He was a multi-year national champion in running and won gold at the Pan American Junior Championships during his early years.