Absolute Visma DISASTER! Neilson Powless wins Dwars door Vlaanderen as he outsprints Wout van Aert and Visma trio
Cycling
Team Visma | Lease a Bike put all their chips on Wout van Aert today at Dwars door Vlaanderen. They had the race fully under control but risked everything for a sprint with Wout van Aert, and although they had a 3-to-1 advantage, they lost the race to Neilson Powless.
The start of the race was quite fast and it took a long time for the breakaway to set off, whilst many riders abandoned even before the difficult part of the race. Joshua Giddings, Rasmus Sojberg Pedersen, Fabio Christen, Lewis Askey, Petr Kelemen, Ceriel Desal, Mikkel Bjerg and Taco van der Hoorn eventually went up the road.
The race opened up with over 90 kilometers to go, with Wout van Aert and Visma hitting the front of the peloton and splitting it to bits. Although there were many riders in play, the Dutch team today thrived in positioning whereas that had been their main issue in the spring thus far.
Bjerg and Pedersen survived up front and were joined by Neilson Powless, Joshua Tarling and Fabio van den Bossche. And then, the five-rider group were joined by Visma's van Aert, Matteo Jorgenson and Tiesj Benoot. Visma absolutely broke through the peloton before and during the Berg ten Houte climb. They linked with the front group, and in the next climb the trio set off with Neilson Powless.
Mads Pedersen and Magnus Sheffield were the main riders trying to bridge across, but unsuccessfully, and whilst behind the battle for the Top5 would become very tactical, in front the victory was between four riders in a scenario that reminisced the 2015 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (where Sky's Ian Stannard was joined by three Quick-Step riders).
Although this time, the Visma riders did not try to attack. A risky strategy, but it seemed clear the team wanted Wout van Aert to win, and in a sprint he was the strongest on paper. Jorgenson and Benoot did not attack and try to take the win, but instead led out Van Aert... But in the final meters the shocking scenario they feared has happened and the American beat van Aert in the final sprint to take the biggest win of his career.
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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