"I’ll just keep this GC ball rolling" - Neilson Powless on surprising GC tilt at Tour de France
Cycling
Neilson Powless was, after his success of recent years, expected to come to the Tour de France with the goal of reaching for a stage win in the hilly or mountainous stages. After one week of racing, the results are the absolute opposite.
“I’m really happy with how the first week went. I had a really smooth ride, I just seemed to always be at the right place in the right time. I had a lot of fun just moving through the peloton, trying to find the right moves to go in. It was exciting, it’s exciting to be racing at the front. I’m really happy to be there," he told Velonews.
Powless is, at the start of stage ten, sitting in ninth place in the overall classification after surviving the tense first week, and surprisingly joining a breakaway on the cobbled stage into Arenberg which almost earned him a yellow jersey. Ever since he's been resisting, and Powless is keen on testing his limits: "I think I’ll just keep this GC ball rolling.”
“I lost a couple of seconds in the end but I was really happy to be up there with the best guys,” Powless said at the end of the ninth stage into Châtel, the first day in the high mountains where the GC riders remained relatively compact. “The team was super good today, they helped me come back from an early crash. All I had to do was sit in the wheel and let them pull me back, they were pushing super hard to do that.
With Rigoberto Urán out of contention and the American team in need of UCI points, Powless has motivations to stay in the run. Although not a climber, he finished the Tour de Suisse in fourth place showing his capacity to ride at a high-level in the stage-races.
As for the possibility of going for a stage win later in the race, he explains: “If I do need to try to go into a breakaway later in the race, if I lose enough time for that, then hopefully my legs will be a bit more fresh from just having smooth rides every day.
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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santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
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- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
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Rest day vibes 👌✌️ It’s been a memorable (long) first week of the #TDF2022. We’re looking forward to resting up, recovering and getting right back after it on Tuesday 💕
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