Nielson Powless (Oneida): Tour De France 2020 Stage 2 Update

Nice, France – Native American rider Neilson Powless (Oneida) is riding in his first career Tour De France for the EF Pro Cycling Team. He has completed the first two stages of the international event with 19 more to go and finishing up the third stage today.

Here are some updates from the EF Pro Cycling team:

This is said to be the toughest opening weekend stage in over 40 years at the Tour. Today’s route was longer and even more demanding than yesterday, and the team headed into stage 2 in good standing. Despite the chaotic events that unfolded in stage 1, Sergio Higuita was in 3rd place for the young rider’s classification going into the day. The weather was much more favorable as it was sunny and dry, but there were plenty of unexpected crashes that inevitably come with the Tour.

The beginning of stage 2 challenged the peloton with a number of punchy climbs and a relentless pace that averaged around 42 km an hour. Team Emirates took control of the peloton by setting the pace, and our guys in pink were right on their heels. The seven-man breakaway held about a 3-minute lead over the rest of the peloton as they ascended towards the Cols de la Colmiane. After they took on la Colmiane, they made their way on the Col de Turini mountain pass. This category one climb clocks in at just under 15km in length and was more difficult than the previous climb. Dani Martínez had to stop because of mechanical issues, but was back on his way quickly thanks to help from the team. 

Anthony Perez (Cofidis) took his points at the top of the Turini and the peloton began their descent on their way back to Nice towards the Col d’Èze with 77 km to go in the stage. Then with about 45 km to go, our team made the bold decision to move to the very front of the peloton and set the tempo for a few more kilometers. They looked strong at the head of the field but then dropped off a bit and let other teams control the pace just ahead of the final climb of the day the Col d’Èze. Neilson Powless, one of our first time Tour riders, then took control after an attack and set the pace as he made his way towards the slopes. “At first i was thinking maybe I should slow down, but then Charly told me to keep going. It was really fun to put in a little dig there,” Powless said.

Quotes from the day

Neilson Powless, rider

“The plan was just to kind of make it hard. I didn’t really think I was going off with too much speed. At first i was thinking maybe I should slow down but then Charly told me to keep going. It was really fun to put in a little dig there and it was unexpected. This first week is just full on. Jumbo-Visma was riding hard and there were attacks from some of the strongest guys in the end today as well. It’s pretty incredible and making for a pretty exciting race.”