Neilson Powless outsmarts UAE duo in Austria and wins after months on the sidelines

The third stage of the Tour of Austria was won by Neilson Powless. The American from EF Education-EasyPost proved the strongest rider from the day’s breakaway, holding off UAE Team Emirates-XRG pair Igor Arrieta and Jan Christen. It was his first victory since returning to competition after missing the entire spring with a knee injury.

Two stages had produced two victories for the home nation, with Gregor Mühlberger dominating the opening days of the Tour of Austria. The Decathlon CMA CGM rider was not selected for the Tour de France, but lined up on home roads in the colours of the Austrian national team instead. Mühlberger won the opening stage before also taking the brutal summit finish on the Grossglockner. Bauke Mollema had also enjoyed a strong start for Lidl-Trek and began stage 3 sitting third in the overall standings.

The third stage followed a route familiar to followers of the race. St. Johann Alpendorf has become a regular destination in the Tour of Austria, and after approximately 190 demanding kilometres from Lienz, the riders faced another difficult uphill finish.

It took some time for the day’s breakaway to form, but once the decisive group had gone clear, it quickly became obvious that it contained serious firepower. Jan Christen, Igor Arrieta and António Morgado represented UAE Team Emirates-XRG, while Oscar Riesebeek of Alpecin-Premier Tech also made the move.

They were joined by Powless, Vincenzo Albanese and Samuele Battistella of EF Education-EasyPost, Peter Øxenberg of Netcompany INEOS and Héctor Álvarez of Lidl-Trek in a leading group of around 20 riders. A breakaway of that quality was always going to be difficult for the peloton to bring back, especially in a race without the depth usually seen at WorldTour level. It soon became clear that the stage winner would come from the front group.

Arrieta, who had started the day 5:51 behind the overall leader and was one of the best-placed riders in the move, launched an attack that rapidly reduced the size of the breakaway. Eventually, only Powless was able to follow him. With Arrieta ahead, the other UAE riders behind were able to stop contributing to the chase.

The second group struggled to organise an effective pursuit. Christen and Morgado were joined by riders including Albanese, Álvarez, Sam Watson of Netcompany INEOS and Asbjørn Hellemose of Jayco AlUla, but cooperation was limited. They quickly fell around a minute behind Arrieta and Powless, who appeared set to fight for the stage victory between them. However, there was no room for hesitation at the front. Christen attacked from the chase group on the final three-kilometre climb and began closing the gap rapidly.

That left Powless in a dangerous position. Arrieta already had one UAE teammate approaching from behind, turning the finale into a two-against-one battle. The EF Education-EasyPost rider, however, remained calm and refused to be drawn into a tactical mistake. Christen was closing quickly, but his acceleration appeared to have come too late. Powless led Arrieta through the final corner before the pair launched into a punishing uphill sprint. The American was clearly the strongest. Powless powered away to claim an impressive victory in only his third day of racing since returning from his lengthy rehabilitation. Arrieta finished second, with Christen completing the podium in third.