'I never thought in a million years I would beat Wout in a sprint' - Neilson Powless shocks with improbable Dwars door Vlaanderen win

Visma-Lease a Bike put on a show of force ahead of the Tour of Flanders on Sunday but came away without the victory in Waregem

Neilson Powless
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Neilson Powless outsprinted Wout van Aert to win Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday and spoil the party for Visma-Lease a Bike.

The EF Education-EasyPost rider had appeared to be the huge underdog as the race reached its finale in Waregem. He went clear with Matteo Jorgenson, Van Aert and Tiesj Benoot after the Visma trio bridged across to the head of the race with more than 70 kilometres to the finish. Powless sat on as Jorgenson and Benoot looked to set up their teammate in the finishing straight before the former unleashed a fierce sprint which saw him topple Van Aert and pull off a huge upset.

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Tom Thewlis
News and Features Writer

Tom has been writing for Cycling Weekly since 2022 and his news stories, rider interviews and features appear both online and in the magazine.

Since joining the team, he has reported from some of professional cycling's biggest races and events including the Tour de France and the World Championships in Glasgow. He has also covered major races elsewhere across the world. As well as on the ground reporting, Tom writes race reports from the men's and women's WorldTour and focuses on coverage of UK domestic cycling.

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