As of Friday, Nielson Powles will be competing in his third Tour de France. Even though he has yet to pedal in anger, the EF Education Easy Post pro already knows one of his favorite things about this year's race.

Already famous as the cycling team that made argyle socks a positive fashion statement, and whose Donald Duck kit brought praise and fines in equal measure (and whose kits sold out super fast) EF Education-EasyPost this month earlier, unveiled another striking Tour de France design aimed at highlighting the connection between men's and women's cycling.

"I like the new kit and have sent lots of pictures to friends and family, and they all like it a lot.

"The idea is super great in terms of getting people to recognize and celebrate the resumption of the women's tour. It's really great that the team took the initiative." [My sister [Shayna] is a professional cyclist at L39ON in Los Angeles. I hope one day she will be able to compete in the women's Tour (Tour de France Femme) and she hopes the same. So I feel very happy to be part of a team that has taken the step to try to shift the focus on us to women's cycling." [He had two good finishes, fourth in the Tour de Suisse and eighth in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. But his breakthrough moment was undoubtedly winning last year's Donostia-Saint-Sebastien Clasica (formerly Clasica Saint-Sebastien).

Going back further, Paulez already had two top-five Tour stage finishes in his debut year in 2020, and after completing his second Tour de France in 2021, finishing 43rd overall and breaking into the top 50, he will be looking for even greater heights in 2022.

"I want to win a stage. That may be my personal priority, but I will be here with Rigo [Uran] again as the main leader," Paules added. [In the last few weeks, both Ruben [Guerreiro] and myself have gotten stronger in the mountains, so I want to be able to support and back up Rigo. More than that, we just need to get through the first week in one piece. I think a lot of riders are just thinking about getting through Denmark and Roubaix."

In terms of inspiration, Powles must have been as focused on his sister Shayna's fourth-place finish in the USA Cycling Pro Road Nationals road race, and her tenacity and determination in getting there, as he was on his own results.

Indeed, he told reporters that her fight to remain a professional racer draws strength from herself. And if the EF jersey was a theoretical demonstration of the potential for unity between the two sides of the sport, his lengthy explanation of what she had to go through to get there and why it was so important to him (full text below) is realistic and far deeper way, highlighted the connection.

"My sister definitely didn't have as many opportunities as I did to make cycling a truly sustainable career path for herself," the 25-year-old said of his brother, who is three years his senior. [She continued cycling through college, attending UCLA [University of California, Los Angeles] for four years. She continued to train throughout that time, but with a degree in kinesiology and psychology, it was a pretty hard workload."

"Still, she was very passionate. It was crazy to see her push through the exams and the workload that comes with going to a good school, and she put in a lot of effort so that she could continue cycling throughout her school life," her brother noted.

"But that's mainly because she didn't have the same opportunities that I had when I was 19 or 20. So in many ways, it's very exciting for me that she has gone on to a career in cycling." [She has been cycling all her life, earning her degree. Now that she won the race from the back group, there is a very good chance that if the breakaway had been successful, she would have been national champion."

Last Sunday at the US Pro Road Race Championships in Knoxville, Tennessee, Emma Langley (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB) sprinted away from the breakaway Lauren De Crescenzo (Cinch Rise) in the last 500 meters to take the elite women's She won the race. Powles chased and nearly caught defending road race champion Lauren Stevens (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB), but Powles finished six seconds ahead of her to take the podium.

"I was able to race at that level because I went to school, moved around to different states with my fiancée who is in the NFL, and coached 10 athletes. She had to supplement her income by doing a lot of things on the side.

"It's very inspiring to see her continue to pursue her passion and be successful at it. It is a great inspiration to me, but it has not been without its difficulties."

Back to the here and now for Nielson Powles, he admitted that starting in Denmark was going to be tricky, but also interesting. Starting the race with a time trial, he warned, would be structured but not straightforward.

"Still, with the wind and the technical finish, there will be no less hectic position battles.

"Even in the last few days of riding, the wind didn't feel comfortable, it felt like it was swirling. So when they say it's going to be a headwind or a tailwind, it's unpredictable, so it's going to be echelon anyway. And the bridge [in stage 2] looks pretty intimidating."

Powles insisted that, in any case, the attitude he should bring to this year's Tour is the same as before.

"Looking at the team we brought here, I'm confident we can do some damage. So I hope they do."