Carter Woods of Cumberland won a World Cup mountain bike race Saturday in Altstadt, Germany.
The 19-year-old, who is part of Cycling Canada’s NextGen program, propelled himself from fourth to cross the finish first in the Under-23 men’s category. It was the first UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) Mountain Bike World Cup race of the season.
“It’s pretty special for sure,” Woods said in a Cycling Canada news release. “Last time in Altstadt, I had a rough one, so it felt good to get a clean race. It all unfolded on the second half of the last lap. It was myself and two others, and I laid everything down on the last climb and they weren’t able to stay with me. I just took it smooth down the descent and rolled into the finish. My goal going into the race was to take the win. I had it visualized, and I was prepared. But it still hasn’t really sunk in yet!”
His race tactics paid off as he stood atop the podium — the first Canadian to do so since 2013, when Norco Factory teammate Peter Disera won the 2013 World Cup in Mont-Ste-Anne in the junior category.
Woods is the youngest rider on the Norco Factory team.
