Last season, Nielson Paules came within a second of taking the yellow jersey at the Tour de France, showing his potential as a contender for overall victory. On Sunday, he seemed to confirm that potential, winning at Etoile de Besseges and claiming his first career stage race victory.

A close race with Mathias Skjelmoes (Trek-Segafredo) came down to one second, but that margin was the result of Skjelmoes jumping the EF Education Easy Post rider at Le Montbouquet and earning a four-second bonus second.

Powles was unable to overturn the result as he only covered 10.7 km in the individual time trial Ales; the 26-year-old finished the stage 5 seconds ahead of the Danish rider and snatched the overall win by 1 second.

"I knew I had to ride the TT by feeling. At the end of a stage race, it's all about how you feel and how much you have left. I was able to reward my teammates for their hard work and redeem myself. It feels great," said Paules.

The day before, Paules was disappointed to have missed out on the stage win. He had performed flawlessly in the first three stages, holding the top 10 overall and pulling away from everyone but the Trek-Segafredo riders on the final climb.

"Yesterday I made a tactical error at the end," he said. I knew I had to be first in that last corner. But I felt I still had a lot of work to do and I wanted to make up for it today."

The overall win showed the versatility of Powles. He finished seventh in the uphill sprint on stage 1, overcame crosswinds and crashes on stages 2 and 3, and showed his climbing ability on Le Montbouquet.

"Every day the wind was blowing and I couldn't lose focus for a second. The crosswinds were tearing the race apart every day. To go through five days like that without making a single mistake shows how strong and committed the team was and how good a teammate I have. If I had to pick a team from the entire World Tour to support me this week, there is no better team. I am proud to be a part of this team."

Since moving from Jumbo to EF Easy Post in 2020, Paulez made his first Tour de France appearance in 2022, won the Clasica San Sebastian in 2021, and showed his potential as a Tour de France GC rider in 2022. In 2023, he won the GP La Marseillaise and also won the Bessège.

"It feels great to have two wins already. I was able to show my standards not only as a climber, time triallist, and puncher, but also as a bike racer. Here I was able to show my ability to be part of the race on any terrain.

"I think my strength is my ability to be part of the race no matter what. I have grown a lot in terms of my ability to follow and use my teammates well. It's made me a better team player, it's given me more confidence and I'm able to lead the team."