“That changed my whole perspective of the type of cyclist I wanted to be“ - Is Neilson Powless now the best American one-day racer?

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.”