"I want to show I'm ready": Finally free of injuries, British hope Simon Carr shoots for a success at Tour de France

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.

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."

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."