EF sports director after Powless beat van Aert: "They know Neilson well at Visma, they are familiar with all his data"

Powless is an experienced rider - he has already finished fifth in the Tour of Flanders and won Clasica San Sebastian - but he still chose to play the waiting game in Dwars door Vlaanderen. At his first appointment in the Flemish Ardennes, he did not ride Omloop, E3, and so on; he should have gone for it.

It was the right move, as he was just ahead of the Visma | Lease a Bike train. Wout van Aert, Tiesj Benoot, and Matteo Jorgenson caught up from behind and decided to take the EF man along. Powless had to do his turns, but due to the lack of attacking spirit among the Visma men, he was also allowed to sprint for the victory. And what a display of power because he overtook Van Aert on the last straight line in Waregem.

Ken, how did you experience this attack?
"Relatively calm. Andreas didn't have a good TV in the first car, so I explained what was happening. Because I had footage, it was important to pass on relevant information as efficiently as possible at the right moments without overwhelming Andreas with information about this and the other.

The question was: how should we do this if we want to win? With three against one, phew... how do you even start?"

Asking the question is answering it.
"We then played our Wout van Aert card to its fullest. It was up to Visma | Lease a Bike to calm the press and allow Wout to focus on the Tour of Flanders as best he could. The only one who was allowed to win was Wout van Aert. That was the only way it could be done."

But someone else won.
"They know Neilson very well. He rode with that team (in 2018 and 2019, ed.), so they know all his data. They know how good he is and that he has a sprint. But I think they were reasonably sure: it can't go wrong if we do a good lead-out for Wout. But Neilson is just a super good rider."

Did you give him any other advice?
"There was a strong headwind, so we told him to get on Van Aert's wheel five kilometers from the finish. Circle around with him but stay on Van Aert's wheel. Always. Because we were convinced that no one would take off without Wout. With that headwind, we knew he would have a chance if Wout started his sprint early. If he had started later, it would have been more difficult."

Listening to this, you guys had your act together in the team car.
"We can safely say that we were hoping to finish second. With that headwind, however, you never know. That's what we said in the car, that he would be impossible to beat."

At one point, we also saw Neilson talking to the Visma guys. What were they saying?
"If it's three against one, there's always a chance they won't keep riding. But they could also be bluffing. That's how it went. We didn't want to play that game, so we let Neilson ride with shortened turns."

Behind them, you and other riders also neutralized the Pedersens and Küngs of this world.
"We were motivated and have been doing well for some time now. With Madis Mikhels, we finished third in Classic Brugge-De Panne and did well in E3 Saxo Classic and Gent-Wevelgem, but things didn't quite work out in the sprint preparation. We know we are in the mix, which will boost us for the Tour of Flanders. We will also fight for a result there, and this victory will certainly help us achieve that."