Powless Sprints Faster than Van Aert
American rider Neilson Powless has won his first spring classic after a thrilling sprint against Wout van Aert. After riding at the front for 54 kilometres alongside three Team Visma | Lease a Bike riders, he kept his cool in the finale and finished it off in Waregem. He succeeds Matteo Jorgenson as the winner of Dwars door Vlaanderen.
At 12:25, the riders set off on the 184-kilometre-long Dwars door Vlaanderen. After an hour of racing, the battle for the early breakaway began. Five riders got away and were later joined by three more attackers: Van der Hoorn (Intermarché - Wanty), Christen (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team), Kelemen (Tudor Pro Cycling Team), Giddings (Lotto), R. S. Pedersen (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team), Desal (Wagner Bazin WB), Askey (Groupama - FDJ), and Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates XRG).
On the first ascent of the Knokteberg – Trieu, the breakaway’s lead shrank to ten seconds. Shortly after, Mads Pedersen (Lidl – Trek) accelerated on the Hotond, reeling in most of the leaders except for Bjerg and R. S. Pedersen.
Just before Berg Ten Houte, Tarling (INEOS Grenadiers), Powless (EF Education – Easypost), and Van den Bossche (Alpecin – Deceuninck) bridged across to the front. Not long after, Team Visma | Lease a Bike brought Van Aert, Benoot, and Jorgenson forward, forming a leading group of seven. The high pace on the second ascent of the Knokteberg – Trieu whittled the front group down to just four riders: Van Aert, Benoot, Jorgenson, and Powless. Behind them, Mads Pedersen repeatedly tried to launch a counterattack, but without success.
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Just before the Eikenberg, Livyns (Lotto) and O’Brien (Team Jayco Alula) launched a counterattack from the peloton. At the same time, Philipsen (Alpecin – Deceuninck) struggled to keep up with the pace. As the leaders passed through the centre of Oudenaarde, 35 kilometres from the finish, Pedersen made another attempt to break away but was unable to do so. By that point, the front group had a 40-second advantage over the peloton.
After the first pass over the cobbles of Herlegemstraat, 20 km from the Verbindingsweg in Waregem, Pedersen, Küng, De Bondt, Segaert, Del Grosso, and Livyns tried to chase down the leaders, but they could not close the gap.
On the Verbindingsweg in Waregem, Benoot launched the sprint for Van Aert. Powless and Van Aert battled side by side for the victory. In the end, the American came out on top and crossed the line first. Neilson Powless becomes the second consecutive American to win Dwars door Vlaanderen. Van Aert and Benoot complete the podium in second and third place.
