Nielson Powles, who finished fifth at last season's UCI Road World Championships in Flanders, was scheduled to lead the Japanese squad in the elite men's road race in Wollongong, Australia, this month. However, he revealed to Cycling News that he may skip the race and focus on end-of-season races in Europe before wrapping up the year with the Japan Cup.

"I don't know yet if I will go to the World Championships or not. I've been selected for the team and I'm still working things out so that I can go straight from Canada to the World Championships. But I think it's 50-50 if I go or not."

A number of high-profile players have been eliminated from the World Championships, including Alejandro Valverde. Valverde holds the key to Movistar's World Tour hopes as they struggle in the 2020-2022 team standings. Currently ranked 18th, the team could be relegated to Pro Continental if it falls behind Lotto Soudal.

Other recent withdrawals include Tom Pidcock, who withdrew citing fatigue, and 2019 Junior World Champion Quinn Simmons, who also chose to leave the US team. Caleb Yuan missed the race to keep Lot Soudal on an upward trajectory, and Ireland did not send a team, citing financial concerns.

Powles said the decision to go or not was up to him. 'After Quebec and Montreal, do I think my resources would be better spent racing in Europe, or do I think I could aim for a top five or podium finish at the World Championships?' It's hard to say, especially with so many riders leaving and the field changing so much. There is no doubt that the race will be different."

On the negative side, it's been a long season and we've only been at home in Nice for one week in the last two and a half months.

"We finish the season in Japan. So there will be a lot of travel to get to Australia. It would be nice to be able to relax at home instead of going straight to Australia for another month. And then I would fly straight to Italy (Il Lombardia). So basically I'll be away from home for six months."

If he does not go to Wollongong, Powles plans to take on a series of one-day races in Italy centered around Il Lombardia before heading to Japan.

"It suits me very well. I love that race. So I want to go there and race. But I'm also thinking about sneaking some time at home to sort out the contents of my suitcase before I go to Japan."

In addition to the pressure of World Tour points, riders face days of jet lag, along with the risk of getting sick on the long trip to Australia.

"It's a risk. There's definitely a risk that if you go to Australia you won't be in as good shape or at the same level for the rest of the season. Even if you go to Australia and you are doing very well, you could come back to Europe from there. Then the time changes again and the stress increases. Then, at the end of the year, they try to go to Japan. I feel like I'm flying all over the world right now. That's why Australia is still in the balance."

At last year's World Championships, Powles finished ahead of such heavyweights as Tom Pidcock, Mathieu Van der Pol, and Wout Van Aert. After his success in the Tour de France, where he almost won the maillot jaune, Powles has no confidence, but the risks may be greater than the potential gains.

"The World Championships are like a grab bag, and it is very difficult to quantify all the fatigue that accumulates throughout the year, even if someone says, 'I am preparing for this.' I feel like the World Championships are like a grab bag. A lot of the athletes were focused on the World Championships, but when it came to the race itself, they realized they weren't as sharp as they thought they were. Especially when you have to fly for 20 hours to get there."

Powles has bigger goals next year. The Tour de France leader's jersey eluded him by just four seconds on stage 6 after Tadej Pogachar led the race in Longwy. This performance and his eventual 13th place finish (12th if Nairo Quintana was disqualified by CAS) led to much speculation that he would be the next American Tour de France Hope.

He saw it differently. He said, "I haven't felt competitive in a three-week race yet; in a one-week race, I think I could definitely be good enough. But I don't really think about three-week races."

"If I'm in a better position next year, if I can stay healthy and aim for the top 10 or top 5, I'd love to, but it's really hard to say if I'll be able to get on the podium or the overall jersey by the end of the three-week Tour.

"I want to get the yellow jersey. I'm so close and I think it's definitely possible, but it's a big challenge to hold on to it until the end."