This time last year, Michael Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation) had already booked his airline ticket for his Sunday midnight dash from Paris and the Tour de France finale to Tokyo to compete in the Olympic road race.

But for reasons we all know well, cycling's usual summer race program for 2020, Woods' red-eye flight plans, and indeed last year's Olympic plans, all went up in smoke. And now, in 2021, with the "new normal of racing," Canadians are more cautious about approaching Mt. Fuji this summer.

"A big factor is the quarantine at the Olympics," Woods told Cycling News from the Israeli Startup Nation training camp in Spain.

"If there was no quarantine, I would definitely compete in the Tour. But if there is a quarantine, whether it's the Giro d'Italia, the Tour or the possibility of an early departure, I want to ride the Grand Tour before the Olympics.

Woods will discuss possible options with the Israeli Startup Nation before making any decisions.

The Canadian recognizes that an early departure from the Tour would be personally beneficial if quarantine were to take place: "When you have a rider like Chris in a good position on GC, you don't want to be disadvantaged by losing a rider in the final week. It's tricky."

"So let's wait and see until we know for sure if there will be a quarantine, it's next to impossible to plan for the long term with COVID.

As for the here and now, Woods is currently in Girona attending the Israel Startup Nation's eight-day training camp, the first time since winter 2015 that the 34-year-old has joined the team, which is Cannondale Drapac and now EF Education Nippo He has only enthusiasm for the team change.

"I'll meet everyone, learn new names and try on new kits. He said.

During the winter, Woods returned to Canada with his family to enjoy the familiar landscape. For Woods himself, it was his first time home in over a year, and for his young daughter, it was her first visit to her father's country.

Overall, Woods says his return to training and his "day job" was slower than usual.

"So I'm going to take more time off and start the season at the Von Ardèche Classic in France (February 28). After that I will head to Italy for the Tirreno Adriatico and run the Pais Vasco and the Ardennes."

"I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it to the next race, but I'm sure I will.

"Finishing the Vuelta on November 8 means that even though I was off the bike for two months, I wasn't in that bad of shape. Obviously I'm not in the best shape, but I've done some efforts and workouts recently and I was surprised that my numbers were good for relatively little training."

Woods, who performed well in both La Flèche Wallonne, including third place last year, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, where he finished second in 2019, will race alongside former La Doyenne winner Dan Martin. Woods, however, insists that having more people is historically a good thing in competing in Belgium's toughest hill classics. [He has won in Liège and has been leading in the Fleche Wallonne for years.

"Liège will do better, especially with teammates of a higher level. Referring to Bob Jungels, the year he won (2019) he had Julian Alaphilippe as a foil and could run long.

"When Dan won (2013), he had a really strong rider Hesjedal and he was running a late attack. Davide Formolo set up a long bomb attack and Davide Villella and I made the break. Stronger teams are more exciting.

Winning monuments over the next three years is one of Woods' goals, stage wins, and of course the Olympics this July. But he has abandoned his personal battle for victory in the Grand Tour GC and says he and his teammates will be looking to win these races.

"At the moment, my GC ambitions are secondary to my individual stage wins, and unless you are Primoš Roglic, it would be very difficult to do both. The World Tour is very specific, so you might be able to get on the podium in GC, but it's really hard to do something like winning."

"So the next best thing is to be part of a winning team. I would love to be part of a winning team with Dan and Chris."