“That changed my whole perspective of the type of cyclist I wanted to be“ - Is Neilson Powless now the best American one-day racer?
Cycling
Earlier this month, Neilson Powless achieved something few
believed possible: he outsprinted Wout van Aert at Dwars door Vlaanderen. In a
race often dominated by the classics elite, the 28-year-old EF
Education–EasyPost rider stunned the cycling world, and perhaps even himself, by
beating one of the sport’s most consistent winners at his own game.
For Powless, a rider whose early career suggested a future
as a general classification contender, this win marked a pivotal moment in his
transformation into a world-class one-day specialist.
Speaking to Velo, Powless reflected on how he once
envisioned his career unfolding, “When I first became a pro cyclist, I thought
I was going to be a GC rider because I could time trial quite well,” Powless
said. “I mean, I was sort of an all-rounder, so most teams would say if you’re
pretty light and you’re an all-rounder, you should try to be a GC rider.”
Though headlines focused heavily on how Van Aert
"lost" at Dwars door Vlaanderen, not enough credit may have gone to
how Powless won it. After all, Van Aert has triumphed in nearly every
major one-day race, which only enhances the magnitude of Powless’ victory. It
wasn’t gifted, it was earned.
While the world may only now be catching on to Powless’
classics pedigree, the seeds were planted as far back as the 2022 Tour de
France. That year, he animated several stages, including a bold but ultimately
unsuccessful attempt to win at Alpe d’Huez, a stage that was memorably won by
Tom Pidcock.
However, it was Stage 5 of that Tour, across the infamous
terrain of Paris–Roubaix, that fundamentally changed how Powless saw himself.
“I would say after the cobble stage in the Tour de France
that really opened my eyes to how comfortable I actually was on the cobbles,”
said Powless, who weighs in at 67kg. “And it made me really not be afraid of
them anymore. Because before, I thought you had to be like 90kg to feel
comfortable on cobbles.”
It was a realisation that reshaped his training, racing, and
identity. For a rider who had been pigeonholed as a climber or time trialist,
finding strength and composure on cobbles was unexpected, but revelatory.
“But I feel like it’s more it comes down a lot more to the
pedal style you have and the general strength that you have that determines how
good you’re going to feel on cobbles.”
Powless began to take that confidence forward, and with each
spring came stronger performances. Since his victory at Dwars door Vlaanderen,
Powless has continued to impress during the 2025 Ardennes campaign. He finished
7th at Brabantse Pijl and 13th at Amstel Gold Race, solid results in fiercely
competitive fields. Now, he lines up for Liège–Bastogne–Liège
this week with momentum and ambition.
His belief is simple: fitness, not just body type, is the
biggest factor in cobbled racing.
“If you’re just fit, you’re going to feel better than others
on cobbles, just like you would on a normal road,” Powless said. “So yeah, I’ve
just taken confidence from that, and then decided that following year I was
going to try to come to become a classics rider and see how I could go on the
cobbles.”
That decision has clearly paid off. In 2023, he achieved a
career-best 5th place at the Tour of Flanders, a race that separates contenders
from legends. It was the best result for an American male rider at De Ronde
since George Hincapie’s sixth place in 2011.
“The first go-around at Flanders I was fifth, and sort of
changed my whole perspective of the type of cyclist I wanted to be,” he says.
“And now I really just see myself as a one-day racer who can take some
opportunities in one-week stage races or stage hunting in some grand
tours."
His outlook is no longer about playing the long game over
three weeks, but rather about maximising sharp, singular opportunities in some
of the toughest one-day battles.
“But I definitely get the most enjoyment and satisfaction
out of one-day races that are quite difficult.”
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
claps 2visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Saw a casual interview with Geraint Thomas and him a few years ago. Seems like a nice laid guy and I wish him well.GregT10-11-2026
- Ernesto Maggioni - The president of the commissaires Mafia. It is getting evident that this guy is basically "Iamalwaysrightandyouarestupidsoiwontlistentoyou" kind of guy. So fire him so that he can be always right in his homeabstractengineer10-11-2026
- Somehow it has got into his mind that he is a GC rider. He is primarily a classics and stage rider who can perform on GC given his day. As a result he is wasting his time on TDF GC and once committed to GC you are too tired to do anything else.abstractengineer10-11-2026
- 🐐❤️Lozza09-11-2026
- This is such a black eye to women's professional cyclocross if this result remains. Marie Schreiber won this race fairly. This finish is not unlike others in cyclocross. Lots of moving around to get to the finish not to cut anyone off , but to generate a sprint on soft wide tires caked with mud and sand. This is not nearly the same as a road race between two riders sprinting to the finish on faster bikes and thinner firmer tires. The powers in charge need to use some common sense, reverse this result and remember this is Cyclocross not Road racing. Unbelievable. . .Zencycle09-11-2026
- Tis beyond your comprehension fine sir so best not to look on with blind eyes to THE GOATS greatness.
Brucegel09-11-2026 - McNulty winning was beneficial in ensuring the rainbow jersey would not remain winless
Front24209-11-2026 - Eccelente! That's 7 riders in total in Red Bull who come from the devo team, 8 if you include Lipo
Rafionain-Glas09-11-2026 - again, nothing is going to be resolved. it is a discussion board. I simply said I didn't see how MS impeded LBs sprint. the UCI doesn't care about my thoughts, and I am really not that emotionally invested in it.mij09-11-2026
- provoke change, lol. this is a discussion board. nothing is going to change by what I say here. just commenting that it didn't look like MS impeded Brand. beyond that not trying to go too deep.mij09-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment