The EF Education-EasyPost team endured a bittersweet opening stage of the Tour de France, where the cruelty and joy of professional racing stood in stark contrast.
Richard Carapaz was caught up in a crash with Enric Mas (Movistar) that ended each rider’s overall hopes for this year’s race.
Mas was forced to abandon the Tour due to shoulder injury, while Carapaz sat in the road for several minutes composing himself after the crash. The Ecuadorian champion eventually got a new bike, fought the pain and rode to the finish in central Bilbao, but he lost 15:24. Shortly after the finish, he visited the Tour’s mobile X-ray truck.
The team announced later that further scans revealed a small fracture to Carapaz's left kneecap, meaning he could not continue the race. He also needed three stitches to close the wound in his knee.
On a more positive note, Neilson Powless jumped away to lead over the category 2 Cote de Vivero climb and took the first king of the mountains jersey of the 2023 Tour.
Cyclingnews saw how Carapaz struggled to walk from the X-ray truck to his team vehicle.
A huge Basque and Colombian crowd packed around the EF Education-EasyPost bus, cheering every rider as they arrived. However, everyone in the team was concerned about Carapaz’ injury.
Rigoberto Uran lost 5:36, leaving Education-EasyPost with no alternate plans for the overall classification.
Powless lost 1:36 after being distanced on the Côte de Pike after UAE Team Emirates sent first Tadej Pogačar and then eventual stage winner Adam Yates up the road. He was proud to pull on the polka-dot jersey but was also saddened to hear about Carapaz’s crash.
“It’s definitely a mix of emotions right now,” Powless told Cyclingnews behind the podium area.
“I’m so happy to be in this jersey but I really want to find out how Richie is doing. All I heard is that he managed to finish. I hope he is okay.”
EF Education-EasyPost have the knack of taking the polka-dot jersey in the early stages of the Tour. Magnus Cort claimed it in the early stages of the 2022 Tour in Denmark and kept it for a week before later winning the mountain stage to Megève from the breakaway. Powless hopes to do the same.
“We knew it was an opportunity but you sort of have to let the opportunity come to you,” Powless said.
“We were lucky and I was happy to have the strength to go for it and get it. We didn’t want to gamble with someone in the breakaway but we thought that if the break was caught before the climb, then the first one over the top would take the jersey.”
Powless made sure he was at the front of the peloton at the foot of the Vivero and then jumped away at the summit to just beat Georg Zimmermann (Intermarché - Circus - Wanty) to the line.
“As soon as I saw the banners indicating the KOM, I just went for it and luckily it was enough to take the points and so the jersey,” Powless said. He has a total of five points and leads Zimmermann by two points.
There are five classified climbs during Sunday’s second stage to San Sebastian and so Powless and EF Education-EasyPost have to decide if they try to defend the jersey and if Powless goes in the break or if they save their strength for a stage win.
Powless won the Clasica San SEbastian in 2021 and so could win stage 2 or other hillier stages in the Tour.
“It’s a long journey to Paris and this race can go in so many different ways. I’m so happy to have the jersey because this is the Tour de France and I get to wear a jersey,” Powless said gratefully.
“I felt really good and really strong on the climb, so I hope that bodes well for the rest of the Tour.
“It’d be nice to keep it but I don’t have too many points. I’m sure there are a lot of other riders who want to wear it too. We’ll see what happens on Sunday.
“I definitely paid for the effort today and getting a stage win should be nice too, though it’ll be difficult to balance those two things. I feel I'll have to decide day by day.”
