"Pogacar and Vingegaard never challenge each other - It's so bland" - Quinn Simmons hits out at lack of personality among peloton's leading stars

Quinn Simmons has voiced frustration over what he sees as a lack of personality at the very top of the professional peloton, suggesting that the sport could benefit from stronger characters in the mould of Peter Sagan.

Speaking to RIDE Magazine in an interview conducted through the travelling Alpecin Barbershop, the American champion argued that cycling risks appearing colourless when its biggest names keep their public comments restrained.

Simmons drew a comparison with Formula 1, where rivalries are often sharpened by the personalities of the drivers themselves. “If you look at the press conferences at the Tour, you never get moments where, say, Pogacar and Vingegaard challenge each other,” he said. “Nine times out of ten, the answer is that they performed well thanks to the good work of the team. It’s often so bland.”

The 24-year-old, who has cultivated something of a reputation as a rider unafraid to speak his mind, was clear that cycling should not shy away from the entertainment dimension of sport. “For me, it’s important to be a personality in the peloton as well. Sport is also show. We have to realise that we are the entertainers in that show.”

Simmons highlighted Peter Sagan as the rider who first inspired him to take up the sport. “Sagan is the reason I wanted to become a cyclist. Not just for his results, but for his charisma. In cycling it sometimes feels like everyone wants to be the perfect professional, the ideal son-in-law. But there’s room for a balance – results come first, of course, but I don’t think it’s wrong to give the sport a different face as well.”

Simmons also reflected on the sport’s struggles to build its profile in the United States, lamenting the failure of Netflix’s Tour de France: Unchained to resonate with a wider audience. “I don’t think they managed to capture the essence of the race,” he said. “I only watched the first six episodes of the first season, but I felt they could have entertained viewers much better.”

In his view, the producers leaned too heavily on trying to replicate Formula 1’s Drive to Survive. “The focus wasn’t really on the sport itself, on the unique aspects of cycling. I’m convinced that with a clearer vision, they could definitely have created a successful series. It’s a shame, because for cycling this was a missed opportunity.”