Neilson Powless on Gran Piemonte victory and and battling Pogacar at Il Lombardia: "It’s going to be Tadej against the rest"

Neilson Powless has reached his best form once again now right ahead of Il Lombardia. The EF Education-EasyPost rider has just won Gran Piemonte with a 42-kilometer long solo ride, and could well be an outsider to finish on the podium of the final monument of the season.

"This win is really hard for me to compare. I’m so happy with it. This is what we riders work for all year. You hope to be able to finish it off at least once, and I’m so grateful that it all came together today," Powless said in a post-race interview. "It was a matter of choosing the right moment. I took off with over forty kilometers to go, and from the climb sixty kilometers from the finish, I rode on instinct. The descent was tricky, and suddenly, only twenty riders were left."

It was a wet and explosive race, suited to the classics riders. The flat finale favoured the sprinters, but the American anticipated the finale and with a long-range attack managed to succeed. "I decided to attack. There were two of us, me and Georg [Steinhauser], and he first countered attacks. Then I launched my attack and found myself solo at the front. I attacked 43 kilometers from the finish because there was no cooperation. I expected some guys to join, but apparently, I picked the perfect moment. I looked back often, not knowing the time gap. In the end, I gave it everything, especially on the climb, where I went beyond my limits. I almost threw up because I’d eaten so much, but I found a good balance."

He is back at the helm of the EF Education-EasyPost then, after a rough period of time where he wasn't able to show off his best form: "I’m glad I can leave the tough times behind me now. I love the end of the season because there are suddenly new opportunities. Spring didn’t go well. But I had a lot of support getting back in shape. I kept chasing my chances, and today is the reward. I hope to recover well and finish strong in Lombardy."

"I was still looking for my form in the Tour, so it was a decisive moment to not let the season slip away after that. It could have easily happened, but I hadn’t raced much and saw great goals ahead, so I kept my weight under control and trained hard every day. I checked all the boxes to improve". Now, into Il Lombardia, he will be able to still fight for a big result to end his season.

"I hope I can recover well from today. I’m aiming for a top ten in Lombardy, but it’s a long race, and Pogacar will probably make it explode one hundred kilometers from the finish," he says, acknowledging the man to beat. But if the World Champion moves away, Powless can benefit from the lack of a pursuit to then thrive in the explosive finale. "It will be tough for everyone else, but I’ll do my best. It’s going to be Tadej against the rest. We’ll have to deliver a tactical masterpiece to beat him. It’s not impossible, but he’s definitely the big favorite, by far. We’ll try to win without pressure, so we need to come up with something".