ROSEVILLE, Calif. —
Roseville native Neilson Powless finished 13th in the 2022 Tour de France Sunday.
Powless competed with EF Education–EasyPost and was the top American finisher in the individual rankings. This was the 25-year-old's third Tour de France. In 2020, during his first tour, he finished in 56th place. Last year, Powless finished in 43rd place.
Powless posted on Instagram Monday morning sharing his thoughts on the race.
"[The Tour de France] 2022 done. I’m proud of what [EF Education–EasyPost] achieved. 13th in the end was not the most glamorous position to fight for, but it means a lot to me and gives me so much motivation for the future. Coming 4 seconds away from the yellow jersey will probably be my biggest motivator for the next year. Most importantly, I am reunited with [Frances Powless] time to enjoy a little time off," Powless wrote.
On July 7, during the fifth stage, Powless just missed the podium but moved up to second overall, nearly taking the lead. He held on to second overall for the sixth stage before falling back to eighth overall in the seventh stage. Over the next couple of stages, Powless dropped back in the rankings to 20th before moving back up in the rankings to finish at 13th.
During the race, Powless garnered headlines like “Is Neilson Powless America’s Sleep Tour de France threat?” from Bicycle, “America’s Tour de France surprise Neilson Powless: ‘I’ll just keep this GC ball rolling’” from Velo News, and "American Neilson Powless nearly rides into Tour de France lead" from NBC Sports.
Only seven riders from the United States competed in the Tour de France. Kevin Vermaerke of Rancho Santa Margarita, California, crashed in the eighth stage and didn't finish, leaving only six American riders to complete the race.
What started with 176 riders ended with only 135 riders crossing the finish line in the Tour de France on July 24. Competitors didn't finish the race for a variety of reasons including COVID-19, injuries, crashes, illness, and others.
The second American in the general ranking was Sepp Kuss, competing with Jumbo-Visma, who finished 18th overall.
The 2022 Tour de France winner, Danish cyclist Jonas Vingegaard, won for the first time and rode for Jumbo-Visma.
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