Michael Woods (EF Pro Cycling) is back on the turbo trainer as he recovers from a broken femur sustained in a Paris-Nice crash last month. The Canadian is aiming to be ready in time for the World Championships road race in Switzerland in September, with an eye on the Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed to 2021 due to a coronavirus outbreak.

"At the moment, I find motivation in the fact that the Olympics have been postponed to 2021," Woods told the team's website (opens in new tab).

"The World Championships are also going to be in September, and those were my two biggest goals for the season.

Paris-Nice was the last World Tour event held before all racing was suspended due to the COVID-19 epidemic. As of now, the calendar is clear at least until June 1, but the Tour de Suisse (June 6-14) has already been canceled, and it is still unclear whether the Tour de France, which was scheduled to start on June 27, will take place as planned.

On Thursday, the UCI reiterated its preference for the 2020 World Championships to be held in Aigle and Martigny from September 20 to 27.

Woods intends to return by September (provided the cycling season resumes by then), but stressed that he will not rush his recovery, noting that his track and field career ended prematurely due to a stress fracture.

"I'm lucky in a way to have had the experience of not doing the right thing during my recovery and ruining my athletic career, and it's taught me a valuable lesson," Woods said.

"I've decided when I want to come back, but I don't have a specific date in mind.

For the time being, Woods is in the early stages of rehabilitation and his bike training is limited to low-intensity workouts on his home trainer.

"It felt really good to get on the bike, and even though it was 15 minutes at an average of 50 watts, it was nice just to get my legs moving and be a little active. 'I got to move my legs and be a little active. I'm getting passed by everyone on Zwift right now."