This ultimately means the 29-year will not be able to race this spring; but if his recovery process goes as planned, he should have time to recover his best form in time for the summer and the Tour de France. “At least now we can say that the problem is solved and I can move forward with a clear path of recovery,” Powless himself said.
“It is extremely disappointing to be missing out on the classics. I was excited to try some new races this year. I had a plan of races I wanted to target and do well in, so this is a big disappointment,” he admits.
“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. This is not something that’s going to take me out for a really long time, but it’s something that we will need to be cautious with. It will be a couple of months before I can plan a race, but it’s nice to have a clear plan of recovery.”
“I had another scan done, and it 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. It’s my first surgery ever, but I was in good hands with the doctors here. Together, with the medical staff from the team, we were always making decisions together, and everyone’s on the same page about recovery and where to go from here.”