Neilson Powless (EF Pro Cycling) underwent surgery on February 23 to remove inflamed tissue from his left knee at the AZ Herentals Hospital in Belgium. The 29-year-old American faces an 8-to-12-week recovery window, ruling him out of the spring classics.
The procedure follows a recurring injury that first appeared in October 2025 during the off-season, when Powless took a break from training after the birth of his second child. The inflammation worsened into tendonitis and, at its worst, was aggravated even by walking.
After two scans showed encouraging progress, Powless completed a four-week block of pain-free training and returned to competition at the Tour de la Provence on February 13. The knee initially held up but pain returned under racing conditions during the third stage, forcing a DNF. A third scan revealed the inflammation had never fully resolved, despite the absence of symptoms.
"After the second scan, I was able to return to training pain-free, which was promising," Powless said. "But on the third day of the race, I felt pain again and had to stop. The scan showed that the inflammation had never fully gone away, even though I couldn't feel it. Surgery was going to give me the highest chance of success, so we opted for surgery."
EF Pro Cycling head doctor Jon Greenwell said the operation went well. "Surgery to remove the inflammatory tissue gave us a much better chance of a permanent fix," Greenwell said. "After the 8-to-12-week recovery window, Neilson will be able to return to riding with no long-term impairment from the injury."
The recovery timeline wipes out a packed spring programme. Powless had been targeting Strade Bianche, Milano-Sanremo, the E3 Saxo Classic, a defence of his 2025 Dwars door Vlaanderen title, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
"It is extremely disappointing to be missing out on the classics. I was excited to try some new races this year," Powless said. "This spring will be a recovery period for me. I'll be able to watch my teammates on TV and spend extra time with my family, and hopefully bring some extra motivation and energy for the second half of the season."
The 8-to-12-week recovery window rules out racing before late April at the earliest.
Cover image credit: ASO/Charly Lopez
