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Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) stunned a Visma-Lease a Bike trio of Wout van Aert, Matteo Jorgenson, and Tiesj Benoot on Wednesday at the Dwars door Vlaanderen.
The U.S. sensation outsprinted the under-scrutiny Van Aert and his two wingmen after they formed a four-up escape after 55km of racing.
“I can’t believe it. I felt really strong today but I didn’t think I had any chance to win from that group,” Powless said at the finish.
“I thought I was riding for second place. I’m just so happy.”
It’s a stunning result for the 28-year-old Powless, and perhaps more so for Visma-Lease a Bike in what’s the final primer for Sunday’s Tour of Flanders.
Van Aert, Jorgenson, and Benoot had launched a yellow-and-black pain train at 70km to go, and only the tenacious Powless could hold on.
EF Education-EasyPost’s classics captain rolled through with the trio for some 55km before he stunned almost everybody by sprinting from the back of the four and nipping Van Aert at the line.
“It was a constant inner struggle I had about whether to ride,” said Powless, who took his turns in the attacking pace-line.
“I felt really good and solid on the cobbles,” Powless said. “I didn’t want to sprint from a big group and it didn’t feel like it cost me too much to contribute to the group to keep everyone moving, otherwise they would have been attacking me and I would have been dropped.
“It was a rock and a hard place, but I’m proud of the way I rode.”
It was Ian Stannard vs. three Quick-Steps at the 2015 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, all over again.
More pressure on Visma-LAB before Flanders
Visma-Lease a Bike came out swinging Wednesday in a short ‘n’ spicey race through the bergs and bumps of West Flanders.
Dwars door Vlaanderen offered Van Aert and the “killer bees” the chance to reset the narrative after they’d been under scrutiny all spring for a series of classics misfires.
The Dutch superteam massed to the front midway through Wednesday’s race before Van Aert, Jorgenson, Benoot, and Edoardo Affini rode the peloton out of their wheels at 70km to go.
15km later, only breakaway survivor Powless survived the relentless pace of the final Visma trio of Van Aert, Jorgenson, and Benoot.
Powless looked doomed after he suffered a bumpy start the season, but Visma-Lease a Bike failed to unhitch the Californian before the crucial final sprint.
Van Aert was disconsolate at the finish line.
“It’s going to take me a while to see the positive side of this,” Van Aert said. “If you don’t win with three men in a group of four, you’ve made a mistake.
“I said I wanted to go for the sprint, so now I have to take responsibility and be hard on myself,” he said.
#DDV25
“ , !”
Not the end we all hoped for, but what a in Dwars door Vlaanderen. You guys should be very proud of the way you raced today: as a team for the victory.
Some great… pic.twitter.com/G8mg1DPnBf
— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) April 2, 2025
Further back, Tour of Flanders contenders Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) were active in the chase. However, the pursuit malfunctioned and never came close to the lead quartet, which rode uncontested for some 55km.
It’s not only Visma-Lease a Bike who may be rattled Wednesday.
There may be some concerns in “Team Pogačar” after Dwars door Vlaanderen after key UAE Emirates monument domestique Nils Politt crashed hard, and Tim Wellens DNF’d.
