Racing

Neilson Powless wins the Japan Cup Cycle Road Race

Neilson and Andrea Piccolo finish the season with a fantastic one-two finish

October 16, 2022

It was a fairytale end to a long road season and an incredible demonstration of grit and perseverance from the entire team.

The penultimate race of the season and traditional denouement of the road-racing calendar – the Japan Cup – always delivers a spectacular race. The 14-kilometre circuit around Mount Kogashi in the outskirts of Utsunomiya favours the brave and the team executed their bold strategy to perfection.

“I think a tough race suited us well,” said Neilson Powless after the finish. “We have riders with really good depth. We came here with some strong one-day riders. James Shaw is a really strong one-day rider. He and Andrea Piccolo showed their strength today. First and second is a perfect race for us.”

Attacks were flying from the very first lap when a select group of riders went up the road. The break included the team’s own James Shaw, Neilson Powless and Andrea Piccolo. Between the three of them, they covered moves and kept their cool as their rivals tried their luck.

Neilson Powless waited until the penultimate time up Mount Kogashi to launch his attack. Crossing the start/finish line with a small gap, he kept stamping on the pedals, pushing his bike to its limits around the corners of the descent to go clear.

Andrea Piccolo, who is just in his third month with the team, put on a clinic of how to disrupt a chase and with Neilson solidly in front and the riders in his group struggling to make up any distance to the charging American, Andrea launched an attack of his own to secure the top two places on the podium for the team.

“As a bike rider, you really just want to win a bike race. So I'm just so happy that I could do it in Japan, at the last race of the year.”

- Neilson Powless

Hands held high in triumph, Neilson crossed the line ahead of a jubilant Andrea who took the time to celebrate his teammate’s victory as well. This is Neilson’s second victory of his career and wraps up another stellar year for the young American climber.

“I made a lot of progress this year but I was always missing a win,” says Powless. “I was really happy with the way I developed and the improvements I made, but as a bike rider, you really just want to win a bike race. So I'm just so happy that I could do it in Japan, at the last race of the year.”

It’s been a long road season and we are proud of the way the riders finished it off. Congrats to the entire team.

Arigato Gozaimasu Japan for another unforgettable week.

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Japan Cup Cycle Road Race
Oct. 16, 2022
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Andrea Piccolo

Andrea Piccolo is one of the most exciting prospects of his generation. He has been turning heads with his daring, attacking style for a few years. Ever since his third place finish at the world junior time trial in 2018, when he was just 17, the young Italian rider has earned strong results both in time trials and road races at all levels.

In 2019, he won the junior individual time trials at both the European continental championships and the Italian national championships, before finishing in the top three in both road races as well. Over the next two years, he accumulated more top results in stages races, one day races, and international events.

In August of 2022, he signed with EF Education-EasyPost and immediately made his impact felt with a series of top ten results in international races. He finished the season on the second step of the podium at the Japan Cup, after helping his teammate Neilson Powless to victory. We can't wait to see what the future has in store for him.

In 2023, Andrea made his grand tour debut at the Vuelta a España. The raced opened with the team placing third in the team time trial and on stage two, Andrea raced in the breakaway for over 160 kilometers, which earned him the race leader's red jersey for stage three.

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Neilson Powless

When Neilson Powless started racing X-Terra triathlons with his sister back home in Northern California, he just wanted to spend time outside and rip around the trails near his house. His first love was mountain-biking. It was his best discipline in those off-road triathlons, and when he got to high-school, there were all sorts of chances for him to compete in California’s mountain-bike league. Soon, he was travelling with the US national team, racing junior world cups and championships against the world’s most talented mountain-bikers. Race in and race out, Neilson proved he was one of them.

Then he decided he wanted to have a go on the road.

Neilson has progressed steadily since he turned pro in 2018, thanks to his hard-work and diligent approach to training. In 2020, Neilson Powless became the first tribally recognized Native North American to race the Tour de France. The next year, our rising American star won Spain’s greatest one-day race, the Clásica San Sebastián, and finished fifth at the world championships in Belgium. Neilson was stellar in 2022. After a strong campaign in the Ardennes, he finished fourth on GC at the Tour de Suisse and lit up the Tour de France. He finished the year off with a victory at the Japan Cup.

The 2023 season was his best yet. Neilson won his first race of the year: the Grand Prix Cycliste de Marseille. He then won the overall at Étoile de Bèsseges and stormed the Flemish classics, finishing third at Dwars door Vlaanderen and fifth at De Ronde in his debut campaign on the cobbles. At the Tour, he captured hearts with a stellar run in the King of the Mountains jersey.

Neilson lives in Nice, France with his wife and baby girl during the racing season. He enjoys exploring their new city and relaxing on the beach after hard rides through the Alps.

If he can find time in his schedule, Neilson would like to get back to his roots, and do some off-road alternative racing in 2024.

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James Shaw

James loves the places that his bike has taken him, the people he has met because of cycling, and the life lessons he’s learned through the sport. But what does he love most about cycling? Racing.

While James has achieved strong results as a GC rider, especially in 2021 at the Tour of Slovenia and the Tour of Norway, his favorite races are the Ardennes Classics. He is also a keen student of cycling history and finds pride and motivation in thinking about the riders who have come before him. James finished his first grand tour at the 2022 Vuelta and is excited for more.

Through the year, he lives in England’s Peak District. When he is home, James resets by taking his dogs for long walks on the moors and riding with old clubmates. His racing and training schedule is very busy, but whenever he has time, James hitches a trailer to his bike and goes bike packing.

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