Michael Woods, Canadian road cyclist, to miss Giro d'Italia with broken hand

Canadian cyclist Michael Woods will miss the Giro d'Italia with a broken hand.

The 29-year-old from Ottawa broke his hand in three places Sunday with some 20 kilometres to go in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege, the third of the Ardennes Classics one-day races in Belgium and the Netherlands.

"It's the hand, but also my back is pretty bad, too," Woods said in a statement released Thursday by his Cannondale Pro Cycling Team.

Woods had finished 12th on April 20 at La Fleche-Wallonne, the second of the three races.

"That's been the hardest part about dealing with the crash, is the fact that I was feeling really good. I had a good one at Fleche. I wasn't positioned great, but I had the legs to have a top result at Liege. Maybe not to win, but definitely contend for a top five," Woods said.

Sunday's race was contested in chilly temperatures over 253 km.

Woods, in his first season with Cannondale, turned heads earlier this year by finishing fifth in his UCI World Tour debut at the Santos Tour Down Under in Australia.

The Giro starts May 6.

No timeline for return

Woods said he does not have a timeline for his return.

"Once they have a clearer picture as to what's going on with the back I can set a clear timeline for getting back on the bike," he said. "The sad part about cycling is it's often more than one injury. If I was just dealing with a broken hand, it would be fine. It's the back, too. Getting into bed is a five-minute ordeal."

"My wife's been helping me get dressed," he added. "I feel like a four-year-old again."

Rio is a big goal of mine this season. ... This is definitely not a lost season.- Canadian professional road cyclist Michael Woods after breaking his hand

The Summer Olympics in Rio, where Canada has earned three spots in the men's road race, remain on Woods' wish list.

"Rio is a big goal of mine this season. I'm still looking forward. This is definitely not a lost season. This will definitely make me come back stronger."

Injuries are nothing new for Woods, whose elite track career was blocked by a stress fracture in his foot that he struggled with for nearly four years.

In 2007, Woods broke his foot for the first time and again two years later. His final attempt at a track comeback ended with another break in 2011 after surgery to insert pins didn't help.

Three months ago, Woods competed in his first road race as World Tour pro, finishing fifth at the Tour Down Under in Adelaide, Australia. He reached the podium in the third stage after crossing the finish line in third.

Woods incurred more injury trouble in 2013, breaking his collarbone in the Tour of Alberta.

Last year, he won a stage at the 2015 Tour of Utah racing for Optum Pro Cycling and later signed his World Tour contract with Cannondale-Garmin.

Armstrong asks judge to throw out lawsuit

Lance Armstrong has asked a federal judge to end a lawsuit against him by the U.S. government that seeks to recover millions of dollars in sponsorship money the U.S. Postal Service paid to his cycling teams.

Armstrong's motion for summary judgment filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington says the case against him is "long on speculation and hyperbole--but short on evidence and viable legal theories." The lawsuit alleges violations of the federal False Claims Act. It was initially filed by Armstrong's former teammate Floyd Landis.

The federal government joined in 2013, seeking to recover more than $30 million it paid to sponsor Armstrong's teams from 1998-2004.

Armstrong confessed in 2013 to doping to win the Tour de France seven times. For six of his seven Tour de France victories, the Postal Service was the title sponsor of his teams.

The government has asked for partial summary judgment, writing in a memo that "there is no genuine dispute" on facts.