Neilson Powless ready for Tour of Flanders: "You need a bit of luck but you also need confidence. I definitely gained one of those at Dwars"
Cycling
Neilson Powless become the surprise winner of Dwars door Vlaanderen, the traditional appetizer before second Monument of the season - the Tour of Flanders. Prior to the race on Wednesday, you wouldn't find the American's name listed among favorites. But after his triumph over Visma | Lease a Bike, that is no longer the case.
"Flanders is a race that demands a complete cyclist," Neilson says in pre-race team press release. "That is the best way I could describe myself. I'm not the best climber and I'm not the best sprinter and I am not the best time trialist, but I'm pretty good at all of them, so I feel like I'm very complete. That is a blessing and a curse, but I think for Flanders, it's a blessing. If I had to pick one race, Flanders is my top, top, top favorite."
Powless didn’t grow up thinking he would be a classics rider. But the strong performance on the cobbles of the 2022 Tour de France sparked his imagination. The next spring, he went to De Ronde, finished fifth and fell in love with the race. All the more disappointed he was to miss out on last year's edition.
"I hope I can fight for the win, or at least fight for the podium," Neilson says. "In these races, you need a bit of luck but you also need confidence. I definitely gained one of those at Dwars."
It won't be an easy task for Powless against superstars and past winners Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar joining the already strong field from Dwars door Vlaanderen. The best strategy for Powless would therefore be to approach De Ronde similarly to Dwars - that is to anticipate moves from biggest favorites by attacking from far out.
EF Education-EasyPost for 2025 Tour of Flanders:
- Owain Doull
- Mikkel Honoré
- Neilson Powless
- Colby Simmons
- Harry Sweeny
- Marijn van den Berg
- Max Walker
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- Being a heavier rider means you have more momentum entering a cobble sector, as your wheel hits every cobble you are going through them at a higher momentum than a heavier rider, so the lighter rider needs to pedal faster to overcome the cobble, furthermore as specified above you have to also consider the fact that the rolling resistance will affect riders of different weights, tire pressure, techniques.. There is also the fact that a heavier rider has more absolute power. TT riders tend to be good when they are of a higher weight. Explain then why are Ganna, Van aert, Kung, Tarling, etc, favorites on flat ITT? Pogacar has lost several flat TTs to heavier riders..alsene12-04-2025
- I think they mistimed their ride by a day and it was intended to be an April Fools thing, coz there’s a video floating around of him training the cobbles behind a motorbike.Mistermaumau11-04-2025
- I like how there are no comments but couldn’t resist when I saw Gilbert’s video post of Pog following the motorbike. Was it April 1st by any chance?Mistermaumau11-04-2025
- What ruling? You aren’t referring to the recent April Fool’s gag?mobk11-04-2025
- Shoulda , woulda, coulda.... pundits can say what they like cycling isn't quite like that and that's what keeps us watching, what keeps sponsors interested etc etcslappers6611-04-2025
- One bike throw at Flanders and a series of mechanicals at Roubaix, and yes, he could have won both, and Van der Poel would have two less on his list. Wout van Aert will likely never reach the magical space of the year he won on Ventoux, the TT, and the Champs Elysées during the Tour, and he's just that tiny notch below the best right now, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a chance. It's Paris-Roubaix, you never know who is going to really make the difference.RidesHills11-04-2025
- The race is NOT on MAX. It's on NBC Sports (Peacock).Ben11-04-2025
- Hard men heal quickly.bobo11-04-2025
- Always reassuring to see articles that explain timelines so well, almost 3 months since when, mid-October then? But if Wout can come back like he did in 5 months so can he. By May he should be in top form again, just in time to let it settle in a while for July. Happy you’re back Remco, go catch em.Mistermaumau11-04-2025
- Yeah, sorry, you said it yourself, it’s the Olympics, not a WC, not a Tour, not a monument, not a team event, not a cycling gala. A once every 4 year event to bring nations together to celebrate the diversity of sport, so what if breakdancing has been included instead of 30 more cyclists who are paid pros? Know your Olympic history, remember drawing? The whole reason of the Olympics is for mainstream public to discover sport they rarely notice, for sports to showcase themselves to public that doesn’t usually watch and in order for athletes from lower ranked nations to participate with the elite for once. The US (now Jamaïca) have known this problem since dominating sprinting but there is no solution, you cannot resolve the Celebrate every nation vs Have only the best equation, it has to be a mix. Already nations with more than 1 cyclist have an advantage, being able to work as a team. As for those countries that can’t keep up, all the better for the elite’s chances, don’t knock it, and sorry but if you allow a Kiesenhofer to win gold, you don’t deserve any medal as an elite. The races have been fine with those that took part, just improve so you make your national selection, if you don’t make that, you don’t really deserve a medal anyway do you?Mistermaumau11-04-2025