"The plan? Just grab even more mountain points" - Entry to the Pyrenees marks Neilson Powless' biggest polka dot jersey challenge so far
Cycling
Neilson Powless has been one of the stars of the 2023 Tour de France in its early stages. As the race enters the Pyrenees though, his position at the top of the King of the Mountains classification will be challenged.
Currently sitting on 18 points, there are a grand total of 32 available on stage 5. After a busy few days of racing already in his legs though, will Powless once again try and get into the breakaway? “The first days through the Basque Country were great. The Basque fans provided a lot of energy. It's great to wear the mountain jersey," he tells Wielerflits. "It really is a childhood dream come true. I hope I can hold the jersey."
"The plan? Just grab even more mountain points,” continues the American from EF Education-EasyPost. “I'm still recovering well at the moment and the legs still feel pretty good, but we're only in the first week. There is a good chance that the refugees will stay ahead today. The KOM points are important, but that also makes it difficult to go for the stage victory.”
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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- A great champion but a better human. jus' sayin'
Davide15-11-2026 - Congrats! It is done so now is time for CX.averagecyclist15-11-2026
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- mij, I am not so sure of that. I have been on a spine ward at a Denver hospital that had quite a few spinal injuries from mountain biking.BDBigGuy15-11-2026
- Pogi takes care of his teammates in races and training. Tadej Pogačar is widely praised within the cycling peloton for his fair and egalitarian leadership, actively supporting his UAE teammates both on the road during races and behind the scenes at training camps. Rather than acting like an untouchable superstar, he has intense team loyalty by sharing daily chores, giving up personal glory to help domestiques, and publicly praising their sacrifices. Unlike some Grand Tour contenders, like Vingegaard, who occasionally train away from their squads, Pogi consistently attends team training camps alongside his domestiques, making the exact same sacrifices to build friendship. I love how Pogačar shares his teammates-domestiques, either when they succeed or win in races or when they simply just do a good job for him. It has to be a great moral boost for them. And then they work even harder and go even deeper for Pogi. This is teamwork.PogiSloFans15-11-2026
- Yeah, what he said!Lozza15-11-2026
- I’m sure Jasper Philipsen would disagree with you.Lozza15-11-2026
- Article says he was “out for a spin around the town”, implying not off-road.Lozza15-11-2026
- let’s be honest, Alpecin is all about one rider - MVDP. I’m sure he gets whatever he needs, the rest get the scraps.mij15-11-2026
- there are more vicious injuries on a road bike than a mountain bike far and away.mij15-11-2026
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Polkadots, explained. 🔴⚪️ See why Neilson is the “cool kid” of cycling and read more about the King of the Mountain competition here: efprocycling.com/tips-recipes/t…
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