Racing

Marijn van den Berg wins the Trofeo ses Salines-Port d’Alcudia

Dutchman outsmarts his rivals in Mallorca

January 26, 2023

Marijn van den Berg won the Trofeo ses Salines-Port d’Alcudia today in Mallorca.

The EF Education-EasyPost rider attacked into the final corner and left his rivals gasping, as he held his speed across the line and celebrated his first ever professional win. Afterwards, Marijn thanked his teammates for the work they did to set him up for the wet and tricky finale.

“I stayed with the first group and then we had a perfect lead out with Neilson and Owain and Julius,” Marijn said. “They did a great job. I just had to finish it so it was good. It’s the first win of my career with the pros. Hopefully there are more to come.”

This victory proved the second-year pro’s resilience, daring, and skill.

It was another cold wet day in Mallorca. The second of the Spanish island’s early-season races, the Trofeo Port d’Alcúdia, looped around the rugged northeast corner of the island, crossing the second-category Coll sa Batalla and then the Coll Femenia, before the swooping return to the beachside town of Port d’Alcúdia and the finish-line. Marijn had to get over the mountains with the front group before he could let loose in the rainy, technical final kilometre. The plan from the start was to hit the last corner first and not look back.

That’s exactly what Marijn did. He worked his way forward through the surging group with the help of his teammates. Hugh Carthy had done a huge turn to bring back the last attacker and keep the bunch together for the sprint. Then, Neilson Powless, Owain Doull, and Julius van den Berg took over and brought Marijn to the front. Marijn launched when he saw the final turn. He knew the line was right around the bend. The others never had a chance.

“I’m not really a bunch sprinter, but this was perfect for me,” he said. “It was a hard race, small group, and then a sprint. I think that’s what my power is. I feel really good. I felt good during the training camp and during training in the last weeks. I had good legs today and to finish it is always nice.”

Next, Marijn heads to the south of France for the GP Cycliste de Marseille La Marseillaise. He will aim to repeat today's feat at the tough and hilly traditional French season opener, but first he'll celebrate his first ever pro victory. Congratulations Marijn!

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Trofeo Port d'Alcúdia
Jan. 26, 2023
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Marijn van den Berg

Marijn van den Berg started cycling when he was seven. His dad would take him and his older brother out on the roads near their home, which was just outside the Dutch city of Utrecht, where Marijn still lives. For a while, Marijn wasn’t sure if he had much talent for racing, but he enjoyed getting the most out of himself on the bike. He rose through the ranks, riding for Dutch teams, before moving to France in 2021. That season, he had a breakout year, winning eight races with the juniors, including two stages of the Tour de L’Avenir. He is a strong sprinter who can get to the finish of hard-fought hilly races.

In 2022, his first season in the WorldTour, he earned a number of top-ten places. In 2023, he put to use all that he learned from his rookie season, taking wins at Trofeo Ses Salines - Alcudia and stage wins at the Tour of Poland and La Route d'Occitanie - La Dépêche du Midi. He earned the sprinter's jersey at Région Pays de la Loire Tour and La Route d'Occitanie - La Dépêche du Midi.

Marijn is still looking to learn all that he can and race for results every chance he gets.

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Hugh Carthy

Hugh has always been a strong and consistent climber, but it was his performance in the 2019 Tour de Suisse that stamped his presence after he rode solo for 98 kilometers over three leg-breaking mountains and claimed the stage win. Since then, he won his first Grand Tour stage at the Vuelta a España, on Alto de l’Angliru no less, and finished third on the overall podium. In 2022, he came second overall at the Tour de Langkawi and ninth on GC at the Giro.

He got his start on the bike as a seven-year-old when he used to ride with his dad. Five years later, Hugh stormed up Mont Ventoux with his dad driving the family car behind him in support. Today Hugh’s favorite climb is Birdy Brow, a short but steep climb in the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire, England. Because he is able to dig so deep on the climbs, it’s only natural that he loves a good recovery ride. Sometimes, he trades his bike for his motorbike and goes off exploring.

Hugh speaks fluent Spanish after living in Spain and now resides in Andorra. Despite so many years abroad, he’s still British through and through. He enjoys watching snooker and The Office (the British version, of course) and after his morning coffee, he drinks milky tea all day long.

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Owain Doull

Owain is one of just two Welsh speakers in the peloton and became the first Welsh-speaking athlete to win a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

While he loves to explore new places on long rides, his favorite place to ride is in the Peak District — preferably on a sunny day. For Owain, setting goals and giving his all in their pursuit is deeply satisfying. In the moment that a race kicks it up a notch, he finds motivation in reminding himself that the outcome will be worth the effort. Owain, the runner-up in the 2019 edition of Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne, loves racing the Classics and Grand Tours. When Owain is not on his bike, you’ll find him overseeing 5 Rings, his coffee company named for the Olympic rings.

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Neilson Powless

When Neilson Powless started racing X-Terra triathlons with his sister back home in Northern California, he just wanted to spend time outside and rip around the trails near his house. His first love was mountain-biking. It was his best discipline in those off-road triathlons, and when he got to high-school, there were all sorts of chances for him to compete in California’s mountain-bike league. Soon, he was travelling with the US national team, racing junior world cups and championships against the world’s most talented mountain-bikers. Race in and race out, Neilson proved he was one of them.

Then he decided he wanted to have a go on the road.

Neilson has progressed steadily since he turned pro in 2018, thanks to his hard-work and diligent approach to training. In 2020, Neilson Powless became the first tribally recognized Native North American to race the Tour de France. The next year, our rising American star won Spain’s greatest one-day race, the Clásica San Sebastián, and finished fifth at the world championships in Belgium. Neilson was stellar in 2022. After a strong campaign in the Ardennes, he finished fourth on GC at the Tour de Suisse and lit up the Tour de France. He finished the year off with a victory at the Japan Cup.

The 2023 season was his best yet. Neilson won his first race of the year: the Grand Prix Cycliste de Marseille. He then won the overall at Étoile de Bèsseges and stormed the Flemish classics, finishing third at Dwars door Vlaanderen and fifth at De Ronde in his debut campaign on the cobbles. At the Tour, he captured hearts with a stellar run in the King of the Mountains jersey.

Neilson lives in Nice, France with his wife and baby girl during the racing season. He enjoys exploring their new city and relaxing on the beach after hard rides through the Alps.

If he can find time in his schedule, Neilson would like to get back to his roots, and do some off-road alternative racing in 2024.

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