“Maybe I’ll never reach the top level” – Quinn Simmons questions career ceiling despite breakthrough 2026 form
Cycling
Fourth at the World Championships, fourth in Montréal, fifth in Québec and fourth again at Tre Valli Varesine. Quinn Simmons has spent the closing weeks of 2026 repeatedly putting himself into the fight at some of the biggest one-day races on his calendar.
The 25-year-old will finish his season at Sunday's Japan Cup in Utsunomiya after another year of progress, but the victory he has been chasing at the very highest level remains missing.
"I've been quite close for a number of years at a lot of big races, but I just haven't quite done it," Simmons told Domestique ahead of Il Lombardia. "I still believe I can figure it out but maybe I won't. Maybe I'll never reach the top level. But at least I'm still trying and I still believe in it."
Quinn Simmons in action at the 2026 Montreal World Championships
From junior world champion to major finales
The expectations around Simmons date back to 2019, when he became junior road world champion in Yorkshire before going directly into the WorldTour with Trek-Segafredo the following season, bypassing the usual under-23 development route.
There were early signs of what might follow. Simmons finished sixth at Bretagne Classic during his first professional season and won a stage and the overall classification at the Tour de Wallonie in 2021. Seventh at Strade Bianche followed in 2022 before he claimed his first US elite road title a year later.
A heavy crash and concussion compromised his 2023 Tour de France, while his 2024 season included five months without racing. By September, however, Simmons was back among the leading riders at the World Championships in Zürich, finishing ninth behind Tadej Pogacar.
By 2025, the results had begun to arrive much more regularly. Simmons won at both the Volta a Catalunya and Tour de Suisse, reclaimed the US road title and finished second on a Tour de France stage before third at the GP de Montréal and fourth at Il Lombardia pushed his season onto another level.
At Lombardia, Simmons tried to get ahead of the anticipated Pogacar attack rather than wait for it, committing to a long-range move before eventually finishing just outside the podium.
Simmons takes another step forward in 2026
Second at the GP Miguel Indurain followed early in 2026 before another victory in June, after which Simmons successfully defended the US road title with a solo attack to claim the stars and stripes for the third time following his victories in 2023 and 2025.
His Tour de France again mixed his own ambitions with a substantial workload for Lidl-Trek. Simmons spent 168 kilometres in the break on the road to Foix before finishing second behind teammate Mads Pedersen, attacked repeatedly across the three weeks and was named the Tour's Best Teammate for a second successive year.
He also finished 18th overall and took 10th on the stage to Plateau de Solaison, despite entering the race without GC ambitions.
After the Tour, fifth in Québec was followed two days later by fourth in Montréal before the World Championships returned to the same Canadian city.
Simmons attacked with Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert with around 85 kilometres remaining and later joined Matteo Jorgenson in disrupting the chase after Brandon McNulty escaped alone. McNulty stayed clear to become the first American winner of the elite men's road race in 33 years, while Simmons still finished fourth from the group behind.
"It was a huge day for American cycling, we probably haven't even realised how big of a day it was yet," Simmons said. "It was 33 years since we took the jersey and then we did it in the fashion that we did it. It's something that will highlight a lot of our careers."
Another fourth place followed at Tre Valli Varesine. Looking back across 2026, Simmons admitted there was "some disappointment" after missing his two biggest objectives. "I have to be happy with the way I've ridden. I think I took a step up from last year, even though I haven't won a lot," he said. "I've shown that I'm at least in the game for the big races. I just missed that final piece."
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The Tour remains at the centre of Simmons' plans
The Tour de France remains the race Simmons intends to build his seasons around. He has spent two successive editions combining his own stage ambitions with extensive work for Lidl-Trek, particularly in support of Pedersen's green jersey campaigns.
The second place in Foix was his latest near-miss. "I think I did a similar Tour to last year and this year I came even a few percent better," Simmons said. "Of course, I wanted the stage but I have to be happier with the way I was riding. If I keep building like this, next year can be even better."
His 2027 programme has not yet been fixed. A return to Strade Bianche is possible despite his history of crashes and bad luck there, while Simmons has also floated the prospect of finally taking on the Tour of Flanders. "Maybe we give Flanders a crack," he said, with the decision still to be made alongside Lidl-Trek.
July is already much clearer. "For sure, my eyes are already on the Tour," Simmons said, before making his priority explicit: "But now for me, the biggest objective every year will be the Tour."
The Japan Cup brings his seventh professional season to an end this weekend. Simmons has already suggested the 2027 World Championships in France may be too difficult for him, leaving another Tour de France and the stage victory he has spent the last two Julys chasing as the clearest fixed point of the season ahead.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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