Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) converted a 42km solo attack into his first victory of the season at Gran Piemonte, holding off a large chase group on the run into Borgomanero to secure a memorable triumph.
Behind him, Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) won the sprint for second place, seven seconds behind Powless. The New Zealander led home Alex Aranburu (Movistar) and the remainder of a disorganised chase group which had lay within 30 seconds of Powless for almost the entirety of the previous 20km.
“There aren’t many feelings in the world that can compare to this one,” Powless said later. “It’s just something that every cyclist works so hard all year to hopefully put it together on a day that matters. I’m just so happy that I could put it together today.
“I was just racing on instinct all the way from the long climb with 60km to go. It was just getting really tactical because there were 20 riders at the bottom of the descent, so riders started attacking. I asked Georg [Steinhauser] to follow a move when Trek attacked but I countered and then that was the move that stuck.
“I looked back quite a few times. I wasn’t sure what the gaps were so I just kept looking back to gauge who was chasing and where I was. In the end, I just gave my best effort, I rode harder on the climbs and a bit slower on the flat just to keep it steady.”
The win marks a comeback for Powless, who saw his early season ruined by knee pain. He thanked his family for supporting him through his battle to full fitness.
“I just feel so incredibly happy and thankful to have put all the bad times behind me,” he said. “The spring didn’t go so smooth for me, but my family stuck with me and supported me through all the rehabilitation that I needed to do.
“With all the long hours training, the camps, and the time away at races, it’s just incredible what my family does for me to chase my dream, but today it feels like it’s paying off.”
Powless had taken off alone on the second of three major climbs in the second half of the race, the Cremosina hill. He had earlier made it into a select lead group which caught up with the early breakaway over the Passo della Colma, the toughest climb of the day.
Finding himself out front in a group of 20 alongside riders including Aranburu, Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), he took his chance among the flurry of attacks and went solo.
Despite a two-man chase featuring Julien Bernard (Lidl-Trek) and Georg Zimmermann (Intermarché-Wanty) and later a larger chase numbering 40 or so, Powless had built a gap large enough to stay away.
Powless never had more than a minute over the main group, with his advantage dwindling in the final 20km, but he persevered and stuck it out to score his first win since the overall title at the Etoile de Bessèges last February.
How it unfolded
The ever-changing route of the Gran Piemonte this year saw the peloton take on a 182km race from Valdengo to Borgomanero. The parcours, suited to puncheurs over dedicated sprinters or climbers, as has been the case several times in recent years.
An opening 110km run on the flatlands west of Milan gave way to a hiller final 70km, with the Passo della Colma (8.6km at 5.5%) the first and toughest challenge of the race.
Barely a metre of flat ground featured the rest of the way. The climbs of Cremosina (4.9km at 2.9%) and Traversagna (3.1km at 4%) featured over the next 40km, before the closing circuit in Borgomanero and two ascents of the smaller Maggiora hill (800m at 5.6%) before the finish.
The break of the day went clear in the opening 20km of the race, with Nickolas Zukowsky (Q36.5) joined out front by Luca Colnaghi (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè), Andrii Ponomar (Corratec-Vini Fantini) and Francisco Muñoz (Polti-Kometa).
Behind the quartet, teams including Alpecin-Deceuninck, DSM-Firmenich PostNL and EF Education-EasyPost joined in the pacemaking over the flat opening half. Up front, the break’s advantage grew up to six minutes as the climbs approached.
It was on the Passo della Colma where the first fractures appeared in the breakaway, with Colnaghi and then Muñoz falling away. Behind the leaders, attacks from Kevin Vermaerke (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) led to a new composition at the front.
The pair were joined in the new lead group by the likes of Powless, Pidcock, Aranburu and three-quarters of the break, minus Colnaghi.
The group of 17 made headway on the remainder of the climb and the way down the other side, though Powless was restless and made another jump on the Cremosina climb, 42km from the finish.
The American was chased by Bernard and Zimmermann, while further back several larger groups were split across the road. At 33km to go, the remains of the left-behind break were swallowed up by one of those chase groups, resulting in a group of around 40.
Further back, a group including several fast finishers – Matteo Trentin (Tudor), Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Iván García Cortina (Movistar) – dropped on the Colma, chased at 1:40 behind Powless and with a minute to make up on the main chase group.
With 20km to go, Powless was the sole racer left out ahead as Bernard and Zimmermann were brought back while the main chasing group closed in. 5km later, the group lay 30 seconds down on the EF racer, while at another 1:10 behind there seemed to be little cooperation in the next chase group.
Despite the efforts of the main chase behind Powless, he raced into the closing lap, the final 10km, of the race still holding a 30-second advantage over the chasing group as Lidl-Trek lost both Bernard and Sam Oomen to a crash, hindering the chase.
Behind him, however, the attacks were flying from riders including Alessandro Covi (UAE Team Emirates) and Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility). The moves cut Powless’ lead in half, and the race hit the final 5km with those 15 seconds separating the leaders.
At 3km to go, Powless still enjoyed that same advantage, and he had the luxury of a few more seconds as he raced under the flamme rouge. Uno-X Mobility appeared the most organised team in the final throes of the chase, setting up the sprint for the line.
However, upfront, Powless still had time to spare, and the 28-year-old even had time to sit up and celebrate as he approached the line.
Behind him, the sprint for the minor placings unfolded with Strong and Aranburu leading home the disappointed chase group to secure the remaining podium places.
Results
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