Neilson Powless: Tour de Suisse performance will define my Tour de France role

After a successful spring Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) is readying himself for the Tour de Suisse and Tour de France. The American enjoyed a stellar first half of the year with victories in Etoile de Bessèges, the Grand Prix Cycliste de Marseille, a string of podium places, and fifth on his Tour of Flanders debut.

Last year the 26-year-old centred his campaign around the summer and came away with a top ten in Suisse and a consistent run at the Tour that almost netted him a yellow jersey in the first week. He eventually finished 12th overall in Paris, and narrowly missed out on a stage win, but he heads into an important block of racing this weekend with a return to Switzerland before another assault on the Tour.

“Things are building up well for Suisse. I was a bit tired after a recent altitude camp but I’m going fast, so that’s good,” Powless told GCN from his home in the south of France. “I’m looking forward to opening things up. I’d lost a bit of fitness after taking a break following the Classics but the support we had at the camp was the best I’ve ever had.”

With EF Education-EasyPost leader Richard Carapaz battling for top honours at the Critérium du Dauphiné, the responsibility for leadership at Suisse rests on Powless’ young shoulders. The American knows that a strong showing over the next week of racing will help solidify his role for the Tour de France, where Carapaz is expected to mount a podium challenge. 

“The ambition for Suisse is to win, or get as close as I can. I’ll be there for GC and to test my fitness out ahead of the Tour de France because how I do in Suisse will impact the role that I’ll have in the Tour. Fingers crossed, and hopefully all that work at altitude will pay off. Suisse will be an exciting test. Obviously the team is bringing Richard Carapaz to the Tour and he’s probably going to be the main man, so Suisse will determine how I fit in,” he said.“I want to be in a good place for the Tour, so maybe I can contest for a stage win and help Richard in the mountains or maybe even be a threat for GC myself. I just want to set myself up for a good July.”

Carapaz will undoubtedly need support during his Tour de France challenge but Powless’ versatility could see him retain some ambitions for himself while also assisting the Olympic road race champion. One thing is for certain: unlike in 2022, when Powless was constantly on the attack and looking to infiltrate breaks in the first half of the Tour, this time around he will be more calculating with his efforts. “Most likely, I’ll be staying with Richard until late in the race. I highly doubt that I’ll be going into a break on stage 5 this year but I’m hoping that will mean that I’m better in the third week. Last year I was finished by the time we got to the third week because I raced the first fortnight so hard, so this year I’m hoping to finish strongly,” he told GCN.

“I’m just happy to be riding at the level that I should be at. I’ve always had stretches in the past where I’ve had good fitness, mostly in the summer, because I’ve always had sickness in the spring. But this year it’s been smooth and that felt great to be up there in the spring. I think the main difference between now and 2022 is down to staying healthy. I came into the season and found out that I was going to become a father and that’s been a huge provider of motivation.”

Over the winter Powless took stock of his position and set himself new and improved goals. After a memorable ride on the cobbles as the Tour de France he decided to target certain Classics, with the Tour of Flanders at the heart of his ambitions. He also used the off-season to head back to the US and unwind after a hectic twelve months. With his batteries refreshed and confidence on the rise, he’s enjoyed the benefits associated with his steady upward trajectory as a rider.

“I talked to the team a little bit about race goals and knew that I wanted to take a stab at Flanders,” he said.

"That was something that we’d talked about ever since the cobbled stage last year. Given my characteristics the team also felt it was a good fit, so that meant I needed some sharp racing in the build up. The races in France at the start of the year were perfect for that, and then racing Dwars door Vlaanderen was my first cobbled semi-classic. That provided a great sampler for what I might expect at Flanders. Getting third in Dwars door Vlaanderen just gave me the best confidence ahead of Flanders but in terms of the preparation it was pretty standard. I just tried to take my mind off cycling over the winter and my wife and I went back to the US to see our families for four weeks. It’s worked out really well and I’ve been in a good headspace all year.”