by By Dan Ninham
It is rare for perhaps the world’s fastest Native American sibling cyclists to be in the same city and country competing at the end of the same weeklong event.
The 2019 UCI Road World Championships started September 22nd in Yorkshire, United Kingdom. The events include Men and Women Elite road races and time trials, and mixed relay, and Men and Women Under-23 and Junior road races and time trials.
Older sister Shayna Powless, 25, (Oneida) will be competing tonight in the Zwift Virtual Race. Younger brother Neilson Powless, 23, (Oneida) will be competing in the Men’s Elite Road Race tomorrow. Their parents are Jack and Jen Powless of Roseville, California.
Shayna Powless will be competing at 7 pm tonight (Yorkshire, England is six hours ahead of CST) in the Zwift Yorkshire Virtual Race. This event is on part of the UCI World Championship course in Yorkshire. “Zwift races are virtual bike races on trainers where you hook up your bike to a smart trainer that has Bluetooth. The trainer and bike then connects to the Zwift app and records your power, heart rate, cadence, etc. You can also see the virtual course you’re riding on as well as other people around you who are online. Tonight’s race is one part of the UCI World Championship course in Yorkshire and is about 7 miles long.
“I train for these races by doing high intensity interval training out on the road as well as rides on Zwift and Zwift community races,” said Shayna. “I’ve also recently been doing track training on the velodrome which is great training for Zwift races.”
“It’s super special being in Yorkshire and racing the same weekend as my brother,” said Shayna. “Even better is that our Dad gets to be here as well to watch us both. We are rarely in the same place at the same time and we often compete in the same race only once per year. And of course it’s always special supporting and getting to cheer for each other in person.”
Shayna races for Sho-Air Twenty20 based out of Boise, Idaho. Nicola Craner, Team Owner and Manger of Sho-Air Twenty20 said: “Shayna just arrived in Yorkshire yesterday from Florida. She’s preparing for Zwift Yorkshire and working out the travel legs today riding with Neilsen.”
“It’s an electric atmosphere here and tonight’s race will be ballistic!”, added Craner.
Shayna’s training and racing schedule is focused and demanding. “The race season went pretty well this year. I had a blast racing with my team and even got to compete internationally a couple of times. My highlight of the year has probably been going to South Africa to race the Cape Epic, an eight day mountain bike stage race I did with a partner where we were 3rd overall in the mixed category and the stage 4 time trial winners. It was both the hardest and most epic race I’ve ever done. I’ve also had fun this year racing Zwift races that I had never done before this season and have been training a lot on the track which is a newer discipline for me as well,” added Shayna.
Two years ago Peloton Magazine featured up and coming world class cyclist Neilson in an interview: https://pelotonmagazine.com/racing/learning-curve-continues-into-world-tour-for-neilson-powless/ The story addressed Neilson merely thinking about the World Tour. He is now competing in the 2019 UCI Road World Championship representing the USA and the Oneida Nation.
The eight-day competition of the world’s biggest names and talent is coming to an end with the elite men’s race tomorrow. There will be 197 riders from 42 countries competing. “I just finished the Vuelta a few weeks ago, which was my first ever three week race,” said Neilson Powless. “It was a challenge, but I feel like I’ve come out of it very well.”
“After a few weeks of training at my home away from home in Girona, Spain, I came to Yorkshire to start my preparation for world championships. Tomorrow’s race will be 285km in length, and around 7 hours on the bike. It will be my longest race to date, and most likely it will be the hardest. I feel ready for the challenge, and cannot wait to see what I can accomplish on this challenging course. I will race with the USA national team, so there will be 4 of us in the race, but there will only be one winner. It’s a one day road race,” added Neilson.
“I think it is really special to not only be one of four men in the whole United States of America racing in the World Championships, but to also represent the Oneida Nation really makes me proud,” said Neilson.
Michael Sayers, National Team Director, USA Cycling, said, “Neilson is a big future talent for USA Cycling. He has participated in our U23 program with great success. He has the skills and fitness to be a player in tomorrow road race.”
The website for the 2019 UCI Road World Championships is at: https://worlds.yorkshire.com
Nice article. So refreshing to read good news. Thank you Dan Ninham.