"I'm going into the Tour with high ambitions and big goals" - Neilson Powless hopes to forget disastrous spring at the Tour de France

Neilson Powless is yet to finish a stage race this year, but his team EF Education-EasyPost fully trusts that the 27-year-old is ready to take on the biggest stage race in the world - Tour de France.

Even Powless himself is aware that the run-in for Grande Boucle wasn't perfect: "I think this was probably the hardest year I've had yet with injuries and illnesses, so I'm just excited that I was able to overcome that and still race the Tour de France," he claims with a grain of pride in a press release.

But his recent form indicates that Powless should be ready to take on the three weeks in (mostly) France. Bronze medals from both events at National Championships and a solid 7th place in Dauphiné time trial are results Powless eyed after spring streak of bad luck. "Nationals and the first half of the Dauphine reassured me that I'm back to a really high level after the rocky spring."

"I'm going into the Tour with high ambitions and big goals. I really want to win a stage this year. I still haven't gotten one. Winning a stage is my first and foremost goal, and I think I've got the fitness to do it. It's just about getting it right on the day, just following the right moves and using my energy wisely."