As Neilson Powless made his way through the mixed zone in Waregem after placing third at Dwars door Vlaanderen, a television reporter suggested it was a surprise to see the American finish on the podium of this, his very first Flemish Classic. “Yeah? Why not?” he shot back playfully.
Why not, indeed. Powless could joke about it afterwards, but he was absolutely serious about his prospects here from the outset. The EF Education-EasyPost rider hadn’t come to Belgium on a whim, after all. The decision to sample the cobbled Classics this Spring was inspired by a fine display on the pavé at Arenberg on last year’s Tour de France.
