"I want to show I'm ready": Finally free of injuries, British hope Simon Carr shoots for a success at Tour de France
Cycling
Health can be a cyclist's biggest weakness - Simon Carr knows his share about that. When healthy, the Brit is a force to be reckoned with, in particular for breakaways on the hardest of stages. But this elusive state of body and mind has been evading Carr since the 2023 season when the Cofidis rider stood on top of his game.
"I've had two knee injuries. It's no fun; it's been several years now that I haven't been able to show my true level," he told DirectVelo. "Now that's sorted. I hope I can finally take the next step and show my potential in the biggest races."
Carr has undergone a surgery at the end of March, and has been "virtually unable to do anything for four weeks in training." Since then, he has nevertheless "put in a good amount of work", first at home, then at a training camp in the Sierra Nevada with the team, and in Andorra, on his own.
But a real race is an irreplacable source of input regarding one's shape. "I think I’m in good shape, but having not raced since Milano - Torino, it’s definitely different; I’m still a bit nervous coming back here," he admitted.
Cofidis knows that 'haste makes waste'
Nobody likes being sidelined for three whole months, but Carr had to adjust to the team's order, which acted in line with a desire to have a fully ready Simon Carr for the second half of the season.
"I wanted to come back earlier, as early as the Tour de Hongrie. But the team preferred to wait, not rush things. I did everything I could to come back as quickly as possible. It’s finally happening now. There’s obviously room for improvement; I’m going into the unknown."
Anything for a Tour de France nomination
In 2025, Carr missed the first five months of the season and subsequently a Tour de France selection too, but the 28-year-old analyzes that his chances for a Grande Boucle debut are better this year, regardless of the complicated path which lead up to this point.
Carr hopes the team will acknowledge his quality when ready to give his all, as he proved at the start of the season with a third place at Tour des Alpes-Maritimes. He gets a chance to prove himself this week at La Route d'Occitanie.
"If I perform well here, I'd like to be at the Tour de France; that's my goal. I feel the team doesn't have many guys capable of winning a stage at the Tour, and I think I'm one of them. Even coming back from injury, I imagine I can do it, perhaps through a breakaway. I want to show I'm ready here at the Route d'Occitanie," says the 27-year-old.
If he isn't selected for the Tour de France, his hopes will shift to the Vuelta a España, as they did last year, but with a different outcome - Carr was forced to abandon after one week of racing.
"The objective might not necessarily be the same. A stage win, why not, but I could also consider going for the overall classification. We'll see. But the priority is the Tour de France, and I have to earn my place."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- exactly, he had an amazing season, but with these overstatements they don‘t do him good.Ketterechts08-11-2026
- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
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