Quinn Simmons confident: “I’m targeting Strade Bianche and the Amstel Gold Race”
Quinn Simmons hopes to make his presence felt for the first time this season on Saturday. The 24-year-old American has already raced four French one-day races, but Saturday marks his first major appointment at Strade Bianche 2026. In both 2022 and the more challenging 2023 edition, he played a significant role in the finale. “I feel it’s possible to deliver a good result there,” Simmons told WielerFlits among others.
The American had a strong winter. To refresh your memory: Simmons was the first attacker of the day in the Tour of Lombardy, went solo from the breakaway with more than eighty kilometers to go, and ultimately finished fourth. “You always carry the confidence from your last race. This time it was different for the first time. My first season was ruined by the COVID pandemic. In the second year, I crashed in that October edition of Paris-Roubaix, and the following years my season was repeatedly cut short by illness.”
“Now I finished with a good feeling, and you can really enjoy the offseason,” the Lidl-Trek rider continues. “You’re not constantly thinking back about how bad it was. Plus, you end the year in good shape, which means you have less catching up to do when you start training again. I didn’t experience stress over the winter because of that. Hopefully, it will pay off. But ultimately, my legs in the race will show how I truly stand. On the other hand, I already hit well above my best values ever for this period in December.”
Scoring at Strade
In Classic Var, Tour des Alpes-Maritimes, and the Ardèche and Drôme Classic, the American has not yet shown top form. A top result wasn’t on the cards there. That must change at Strade Bianche. “I love being in Tuscany and racing there; the surroundings are beautiful. I’ve also done well there in the past, which helps. This race… I haven’t posted a top result yet, but I feel it’s possible. That’s why I want to keep trying. It’s a big race, and not many suit me. I like the course, racing in Italy, and also the Italian fans.”
Simmons definitely wants to entertain the crowd, as he also expressed last year in the Alpecin Barbershop. “You know, at the end of the day, we get paid because cycling is shown on TV. You have to perform and do well; you can’t get away with doing stupid things. The more eyes on us, our teams, and sponsors, the more money we can all earn. Cyclists have only about ten years to make their money. You owe it to yourself to present yourself well so fans can cheer for you.”
Anticipating at Amstel
After Strade Bianche, Simmons will focus on the Amstel Gold Race, his second target this year. “Actually, it’s already the second time I’m focusing on that race,” he confesses. “That was the case last year as well, but it didn’t go well (Simmons did not finish, ed.). Mattias Skjelmose won the race for us, which was great. He’s a good friend of mine. But after two hours of racing last year, I already said through my earpiece that the pace was way too fast, it was a race for climbers, and I wouldn’t be there in the finale. If it is like that again this year, it will be tough for me again. But I have to try.”
He drew that confidence mainly from last year’s Tour of Lombardy. “I was much better at the end of the season than in the spring. Of course, I won that strange stage in the Tour of Catalonia (shortened to only 25 kilometers because of wind), but after Amstel I went home to prepare for the second half of the season. I consider that stage win in Switzerland my true first stage victory of the year. During the Tour de France, I just kept getting better and better.”
“At the end of the season, I reached a new level,” he continues. “If I can add one or two percent and be a bit lighter, it could work out at Amstel. It’s a special race for me anyway because I lived in Limburg for two years as a junior. The US national team has a house there. Our entire generation spent two years in Sittard. The best memories I have as a cyclist come from that time. Sixteen, seventeen years old, hanging around Europe, experiencing that for the first time. A great period.”
Making noise at the Tour and competing at Worlds
After Amstel, Simmons will turn his focus again to the US Road Championship, the Tour de France, and the World Championships in Canada. “This year, I mainly want to confirm my step forward from last year and prove myself. My biggest goal is to win a stage in the Tour. Then the Worlds. My third place in the GP de Montréal (on the course where most of the Worlds will take place, ed.) gave me a lot of confidence. That came as a surprise last year. Skjelmose came to find me in Colorado, and together we trained for three weeks for the Canadian races. I knew I was good, but I had never finished one…”
“I didn’t feel any pressure because of that,” he continues. “During the race, I didn’t feel myself deteriorating, while I saw that happening with others. Obviously, I raced for second place (behind Tadej Pogačar, ed.). But being there in the finale of a race with 4,000 meters of climbing given my weight gave me a real confidence boost. Especially with the team we can line up with, it’s a team the United States hasn’t had for a long time. Potentially, three Americans can compete for a medal on the Montréal course.”
He is referring to Matteo Jorgenson, Neilson Powless, and himself. “The group we have now is pretty good at going through fire for each other. Everyone is honest, and ultimately we race for whoever is best on that day. We sacrifice each other’s chances for that. Hopefully, I’m the one it all comes down to at the end of September. Riding in the national team is an honor anyway. We want to fight for that medal, because it’s been a long time since it last happened. I think it’s been since Lance Armstrong’s world title (correct, ed.). Too long ago. Time to change that.”
