Michael Woods finished in the top 10 in Liège-Bastogne-Liège for the sixth year in a row, and finished 10th in La Doyenne in a group behind Remco Evenpoel.

The Canadian jumped out on the Côte de la Redoute about 29km earlier, 43 seconds behind the Belgian winner of Liège-Bastogne-Liège and part of an elite chase group looking for a podium finish.

Woods, who was part of the group with Israel Premier Tech teammate and 2019 winner Jacob Fuglsang, said afterward that he could not praise Evenpoel enough for how he attacked and won solo in his first race. [Woods told Cycling News after the 257km monument finish. 'And Woods said after the 257km Monument finish, "I'm not sure I've ever won a solo race. It's hard to think of a more superlative word to describe his run."

"In the attack on La Redoute, everyone was just watching and impressed. You felt that once he was gone, no one could catch him."

"It was a great experience.

It was true, and the victory was hardly in doubt, even though Evenpoel's unstoppable attack drove him downhill and there were nearly 30 km of hill left to go.

According to Woods, he and Fuglsang were not at the front of the main group when Evenpoel jumped out.

"They were a little bit behind, perhaps lured by a false sense of security. 'When you climb La Redoute that far, if someone attacks you, it won't stick.'

"That's from experience, I've always done that on La Redoute. Except when Even Paul attacked, you thought, "Well, if he decides to attack here, he'll come back."[17

He said the team's execution during the race went according to plan, even though he and Fuglsang finished 10th and 13th.

"Disappointing," was Woods' initial assessment.

"It was the same last year, but this year the headwind at Roche aux Fokens was even stronger.

"I tried my best to keep up with the strong group, but the headwind made it hard to stay together. Then it came down to a sprint, but it's hard to beat that level of rider in a headwind sprint. Jacob helped me in the final, but I hit the wind too early.

"I think it went according to plan. I could have gone up faster in the early phases [of the Roche aux Faucons]." But again, the headwind was too strong."

Sixth in La Flèche Wallonne and tenth in Liège were disappointing results in the Ardennes for a man who has been on the podium in both races in the past. However, he moved on to the Tour of Romandie in the spring with a stage win in Grand Camignot.

"I have really battled with my illness," he said. Even on the night of the win in Caminho, I wasn't feeling well. I was sick in the Caminho the night we won, too.

"It's been a tough couple of months, but now I'm finally getting healthy and finding my legs.