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Mike Woods' career in the WorldTour was practically a fluke. After earning a full ride to college for running, he quit the sport over a series of injuries and started riding his dad's bike on the weekends. Fast forward about a decade and he had won three stages of the Vuelta a España and one stage of the Tour de France. Last year, he announced his retirement after over 10 years in the WorldTour.

Payson caught up with Mike last week in Andorra to talk about his Cinderella story in cycling and his decision to race some of the toughest endurance events in a wide range of disciplines during his first season of retirement. They also talk about how road racing has changed since Mike first signed a WorldTour contract, and the one race that still haunts him.

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Mike Woods on his unlikely WorldTour career and multi-sport retirement plans