Neilson Powless Explained

Neilson Powless
Fullname:Neilson Powless
Birth Date:1996 9, mf=yes
Birth Place:Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, U.S.[1]
Height:1.83 m
Weight:67kg
Discipline:Road
Role:Rider
Ridertype:Puncheur, Classics specialist
Proyears1:2016–2017
Proyears2:2018–2019
Proteam2:[2] [3]
Proyears3:2020–
Proteam3:[4]
Majorwins:One-day races and Classics

Clásica de San Sebastián (2021)

Japan Cup (2022)

Neilson Powless (born September 3, 1996) is an American and Oneida Nation professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam .[5] Powless is the first US Native American to compete in the Tour de France.[6] [7]

Career

Early career 2018–2021

Powless turned professional with in 2018. He competed in his first Grand Tour at the 2019 Vuelta a España.[8] Powless, along with Jumbo-Visma teammates Robert Gesink, George Bennett and Sepp Kuss, each finished between 27th and 33rd in the overall standings en route to assisting Primož Roglič in winning the race.

The next season he moved to . He was named on the startlist for the 2020 Tour de France. He rode in support of GC contender and team leader Rigoberto Urán. During this tour he got involved in a breakaway and earned a top 5 stage finish.

Following his strong debut, Powless again was named as part of the EF Team for the 2021 Tour de France.[9] Early in the season he finished 5th in the 2021 UAE Tour, in July he won the 2021 Clásica de San Sebastián, becoming only the second American to do so, and late in the season he finished 5th in the UCI world championship.

2022–present

During the 2022 Tour de Suisse Powless was active in several breakaways and stayed with the overall leaders throughout the entire race finishing in 4th place overall.

He was added to the start list for the 2022 Tour de France, joining Nairo Quintana as the other Indigenous American rider to start the race.[10] On stage 5 of the Tour, a particularly brutal stage with many cobbled sections, he joined a breakaway that survived to the finish. Overall leader Wout van Aert crashed multiple times giving Powless the chance to move into the yellow jersey. Van Aert was able to limit his losses, but Powless moved into 2nd place overall. At +0:13 this was the closest an American had come to wearing the leader's jersey since Tejay van Garderen tied for the lead in the first week of the 2018 edition.[11] The next day he came within +0:04 of the lead, but Tadej Pogačar seized control of the race and on stage 7 Powless began to fall back. Powless was active in other breakaways throughout the race including being the only rider to attack on kilometer zero of stage 12, which culminated on Alpe d'Huez. Several dozen riders attacked throughout the day but very few survived ahead of the GC favorites. Powless did survive, and placed fourth, he also advanced as high as 3rd place in the mountains classification by the start of the third week.[12] He ultimately finished the Tour in 13th (subsequently upgraded to 12th), the highest ranked rider on the team and the only Team EF rider inside the top 25.

He ended the 2022 season with a solo victory at the Japan Cup.[13]

Powless started the 2023 season with success, winning both the Étoile de Bessèges stage race and the single-day Grand Prix La Marseillaise. He then saw multiple top 10 finishes in the spring World Tour races, including the Tour of Flanders, Dwars door Vlaanderen, Paris–Nice and Milan–San Remo.

He was again selected to race in the Tour de France, where he led the mountains classification for all but one of the first thirteen stages. He ultimately lost the lead to Giulio Ciccone and finished fourth.[14]

Personal life

His mother Jen Allred ran the marathon for Guam at the 1992 Summer Olympics.[15] His older sister is fellow professional racing cyclist Shayna Powless.[16] Powless married Frances Powless (née Chae) in 2020.[17] The couple had their first child in 2023.[18]

Major results

2016
  • 1st Overall Joe Martin Stage Race
  • 1st Stage 8 Tour de l'Avenir
  • 1st Stage 3 Redlands Bicycle Classic
  • 1st Stage 3a (ITT) Tour de Beauce
  • 1st Stage 1 (TTT) Olympia's Tour
  • 9th Overall Tour of California
  • 1st Young rider classification
    2017
  • National Under-23 Road Championships
  • 1st Road race
  • 3rd Time trial
  • 1st Gran Premio Palio del Recioto
  • National Road Championships
  • 2nd Road race
  • 3rd Time trial
  • 3rd Overall Le Triptyque des Monts et Châteaux
  • 1st Stage 3a (ITT)
  • 4th Overall Tour of Utah
  • 1st Young rider classification
  • 6th Overall Giro Ciclistico d'Italia
  • 1st Stage 1
  • 6th Giro del Belvedere
    2018
  • 7th Overall Tour of Britain
  • 1st Stage 5 (TTT)
  • 9th Overall Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali
  • 10th Raiffeisen Grand Prix
    2019
  • National Road Championships
  • 2nd Time trial
  • 3rd Road race
  • 7th Overall Volta ao Algarve
  • 7th Japan Cup
    2020
  • 4th Overall Herald Sun Tour
    2021 (1 pro win)
  • 1st Clásica de San Sebastián 5th Road race, UCI Road World Championships
  • 5th Overall UAE Tour
  • 6th Coppa Sabatini
    2022 (1)
  • 1st Japan Cup
  • 3rd Maryland Cycling Classic
  • 4th Overall Tour de Suisse
  • 8th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
    2023 (2)
  • 1st Overall Étoile de Bessèges
  • 1st Grand Prix La Marseillaise
  • 2nd Maryland Cycling Classic
  • 3rd Overall Tour des Alpes-Maritimes et du Var
  • 3rd Dwars door Vlaanderen
  • 4th Clásica de San Sebastián
  • 5th Tour of Flanders
  • 6th Overall Paris–Nice
  • 7th Milan–San Remo
  • Tour de France
  • Held after Stages 1–4 & 6–13
  • Combativity award Stage 2
    2024
  • National Road Championships
  • 3rd Road race
  • 3rd Time trial
  • 6th Clásica de San Sebastián

    General classification results timeline

    Grand Tour general classification results
    Grand Tour2018201920202021202220232024
    Giro d'Italia
    Tour de France5643126659
    Vuelta a España31
    Major stage race general classification results
    Race2018201920202021202220232024
    Paris–Nice25DNF6
    Tirreno–AdriaticoDNF
    Volta a CatalunyaNHDNF
    Tour of the Basque CountryDNF79
    Tour de RomandieDNF8714
    Critérium du Dauphiné8224DNF
    Tour de SuisseNH14420

    Classics results timeline

    Monument2018201920202021202220232024
    Milan–San Remo837
    Tour of Flanders5
    Paris–RoubaixNH
    Liège–Bastogne–Liège92865
    Giro di Lombardia625134
    Classic2018201920202021202220232024
    Strade BiancheDNF86
    Dwars door Vlaanderen3
    Amstel Gold RaceNHDNF
    La Flèche Wallonne19DNF
    Clásica de San SebastiánNH146
    Grand Prix Cycliste de QuébecNot held2320
    Grand Prix Cycliste de MontréalDNF33
    Legend
    Did not compete
    DNFDid not finish

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: BIO - NEILSON POWLESS USA CYCLING . July 16, 2021 . March 9, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230309193701/https://legacy.usacycling.org/neilson-powless.htm . live .
    2. News: Powless signs two-year deal with LottoNL-Jumbo. Cyclingnews.com. September 10, 2017. January 4, 2018. April 5, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190405133135/http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/powless-signs-two-year-deal-with-lottonl-jumbo/. live.
    3. News: Cheery Christmas for ambitious Team Jumbo-Visma. . Team Oranje Road BV. December 21, 2018. January 4, 2019. April 13, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190413043945/https://www.teamjumbovisma.com/longread/news/cheery-christmas-for-ambitious-team-jumbo-visma/. live.
    4. News: 2020 Team Preview: EF Education First. Ellis. Bacon. Cyclingnews.com. January 1, 2020. January 2, 2020. January 2, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200102020853/https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/2020-team-preview-ef-education-first/. live.
    5. Web site: EF Education – Nippo. UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. January 1, 2021. https://archive.today/20210101135037/https://www.uci.org/road/teams/TeamDetail/15238/1000987/279. January 1, 2021.
    6. Web site: Ninham. Dan. September 28, 2019. Catching Up With World Class Cyclists Shayna and Neilson Powless (Oneida) at the UCI Road World Championships. August 30, 2020. NDNSPORTS. October 1, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191001155749/http://www.ndnsports.com/catching-up-with-world-class-cyclists-shayna-and-neilson-powless-oneida-at-the-uci-road-world-championships/. live.
    7. News: Kerber. Jasmine. August 29, 2020. Roseville 23-year-old will make history in his Tour de France debut this weekend. The Sacramento Bee. August 29, 2020. August 31, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200831032937/https://www.sacbee.com/sports/article245331015.html. live.
    8. Web site: 2019: 74th La Vuelta ciclista a España . August 23, 2019 . ProCyclingStats . July 29, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190729160124/https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/vuelta-a-espana/2019/gc/startlist . live .
    9. Web site: 107th Tour de France: Startlist . ProCyclingStats . August 27, 2020 . August 28, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200828083425/https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-france/2020/startlist . live .
    10. Web site: Neilson Powless, Nairo Quintana show Indigenous Strength at the 2022 Tour de France. Yahoo! News. Native News Online. 26 July 2022. 27 July 2022. July 27, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220727111445/https://news.yahoo.com/neilson-powless-nairo-quintana-show-160607618.html. live.
    11. Web site: American Neilson Powless nearly rides into Tour de France lead. Olympic. Talk. NBC. 6 July 2022. 6 July 2022. July 6, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220706181708/https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2022/07/06/neilson-powless-tour-de-france/. live.
    12. Web site: Roseville's Neilson Powless ascends peaks of Tour de France pecking order. Chris. Biderman. The Sacramento Bee. 13 July 2022. 17 July 2022. September 18, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230918032840/https://www.sacbee.com/sports/article263409408.html. live.
    13. Web site: Startlist for Japan Cup 2022. ProCyclingStats. 18 October 2022. October 18, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221018160403/https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/japan-cup/2022/result/startlist. live.
    14. Web site: Tour de France: How Giulio Ciccone edged past Neilson Powless in race for the King of the Mountains . velo.outsideonline.com . 23 July 2023 . 25 July 2023 . Stokes, Shane . September 18, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230918032833/https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-how-giulio-ciccone-beat-neilson-powless-in-race-for-the-king-of-the-mountains/ . live .
    15. Web site: Neilson Powless: A name to remember. May 17, 2016. September 3, 2020. September 29, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200929105555/https://www.velonews.com/news/road/neilson-powless-name-remember/. live.
    16. Web site: High school cycling produces world class athletes . George . Sue . August 29, 2013 . . September 3, 2020 . September 21, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200921124304/https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/high-school-cycling-produces-world-class-athletes/ . live .
    17. Web site: A Romantic Cliffside Wedding with Breathtaking Views of Big Sur . May 10, 2021 . July 7, 2023 . July 8, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230708034833/https://www.marthastewart.com/8104347/california-cliffside-wedding-nelli-noel-photography . live .
    18. Web site: Instagram Post - September 25, 2023 . Powless . Neilson . Instagram . 2023-09-25 . 2024-05-01 .