American Cyclists - Neilson Powless

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It’s official. We are now 2 weeks away from the start of the 2026 edition of the Tour de France. I’ve been highlighting a few U.S. racers that you should see making the 21-day trek through the country. Today, we end with EF Education-EasyPost rider Neilson Powless. Hailing from the Oneida Nation tribe in the Sacramento area (Powless was the first U.S. Native American to compete in the Tour,) Neilson Powless was born in 1996 at Elgin Air Force Base in Florida. He is a breakaway specialist and domestique (worker) who, when he’s not in the break, spends his day working for his team leader. Powless does have some results to show for all of his work, however. His most recent win came in 2025 at Dwars door Vlaanderen, where he found himself isolated in a breakaway with 3 riders from the powerhouse Visma-Lease a Bike team; Despite being outgunned, Neilson outsprinted the mighty Wout van Aert for the victory. In his pro career, Neilson Powless has also won at Clasica de San Sebastian in 2021 (just the 2nd American to win that particular race,) the Gran Piemonte in 2024, and has won the Japan Cup twice (2022, 2024.) Powless has been recovering from knee surgery and missed this year’s classics season. If he’s fully recovered, you should see Neilson in France in a couple weeks, as he is an important part of the Education First team. His sister, Shayna Powless, is also a professional cyclist. Link is a short of Powless winning the 2025 Dwars door Vlaanderen: