PRESS CONFERENCE | American Champion Quinn Simmons on 2025, favourite races and battling Tadej Pogacar - "We can't be lining up and immediately giving up the win"

The 2025 season was Quinn Simmons' best so far. He won stages at the Volta a Catalunya and Tour de Suisse; helped close friend Mattias Skjelmose to big wins; found consistency and his best level thus far; and even battled Tadej Pogacar on a couple occasions. CyclingUpToDate was present at Lidl-Trek's media day to listen to the American national champion.

Simmons' season consisted of very strong performances and besides what is in his palmarès, he has also achieved the best domestique award at the Tour de France. But his true level was shown late in the year, after preparing for the late season at home in Durango, Colorado.

He rode to third place at the GP de Montréal, only topped by UAE's Tadej Pogacar and Brandon McNulty. But at Il Lombardia, where he closed his season, he rode a breakaway from the start of the race, dropped all his companions, and went on to surprise massively. He rode to fourth on the day, in a race made for the climbers.

The Lidl-Trek rider, who showed up at the conference room with good mood and a smile on his face, intercepting the words of his teammate Mathias Vacek. After finishing the season on a high, for the first time since turning pro, the confidence and calm is noticeable...

Oh, yeah, I think, first I made a good step last year and I want to first confirm that level and then improve it. I think, obviously, there's big goals, both in one day races and stage racing. I think, if I were to name my biggest objective, it would be to get that tour stage that I missed this year. For me, I think, just to do another season on the same level as last year would already be quite a success.

It should be, normally, more or less the same as I normally do. Strade will be my first objective. After that, we haven't figured exactly what the path is, but I'll target Amstel. Then do my normal preparation in Colorado and come, hopefully, again in the national jersey for the Tour and try to win a stage. Beyond that, the Canadian world is quite interesting for us North Americans.

In theory, I was targeting it last year because it didn't go so well. I think it's hard. With Skelly (Mattias SKjelmose, ed.) winning this year, it was super nice. But two hours into the race, I remember saying on the radio 'guys the way they're going so fast is a climber's race. We're not going to be there.' Again, like this, it's obviously difficult for me, but you have to try.

Because at the end of the year, last year, I was a lot better than I was at the beginning of the year. Already, early in the season, I won a stage in Catalunya, then I went home, prepared again for the second half of the season. The win in Swisse was, in my head, the first real win because the Catalunya one was a bit strange. Then I just got better throughout the Tour. I think you saw at the end of the year a new level for me. If I can take again 1-2% this winter, maybe 1-2% less fat, maybe I can make it around.

Yes, it's quite close to where I lived as a junior with the national team. We spent a few years together. For sure, some of my best racing memories come from the time I spent there with the 16-17 year olds of us. Staying around in Europe and experiencing that for the first time.

I think Montreal was actually a surprise. I had done a really good training camp. Mattias actually came and visited me in Colorado. We did three weeks together to prepare the Canadian races. I knew I was on a good level. I expected to be good in Quebec, I actually never finished the race. I was bad in Quebec... In Montreal, I went into it. I needed one long hard training before the Worlds. I didn't really have too much pressure. As the race went on and on, I could see. Not necessarily that I got better, but that others got worse. Eventually, you're there.

You're not going to say you were fighting for the victory, but I was at least fighting to be second. In a race of 4,000 metres of climbing, my weight to be there in the final is a confidence boost. Then I went to the Worlds and had a bad day at the Worlds. I lost that confidence and went to Lombardy and got it back.

That's why it's so nice to finish the season in such a good way. Every other year, I'd always finish. The first year, it's basically ruined with COVID. The second year, I crashed out of the October Roubaix. Years after that, I finished with sickness. To finish in a good way and be like, I can take my obstacles and enjoy it. There's no stress now. I hope it pays off.

I feel pretty good when I ride my bike.

I feel good because when you finish in that way, you can really enjoy the time off. You're not thinking about how bad it was. You also finish in good shape, so you have less to chase after. It's hard to say. I can only answer in March if I end up showing up in a good way. For right now, having only done a few weeks of training, I'm the best I've ever been at this time of year by quite a bit. I hope that trajectory continues. I don't want to promise it.

Yes. Also, if you look at the potential aid that we'll have at the start for the Americans, it's been quite some time since we had that start list. It's a course that there's probably three of us that could potentially be fighting for at least a medal.

I think, among our group, we're all quite good at buying in and going in who's best on the day. First of all, I hope it's me, but if not, anytime you're in the national jersey, we're actually really fighting for that first medal. I can't even remember the last time an American took a medal at the Elite Worlds. It's not during my career, that's for sure.

It's a long time ago. It's a long time ago. It's time to change that.

Well, luckily, I get to do it all season. The national team one is different. Even though the Worlds this year didn't go well for us, it's a different experience when you're sitting six and better, and you all are from the same place, and you all grew up in more or less the same way. It's just one time of year where you're back with the boys, and bike racing feels like you're a junior again.

I mean, I've been the only American on the American team for five years now, so it's not so much of a change. Of course, I liked riding with the flag next to the name. It doesn't change anything. I liked it, money talks. People's got a lot of money.

It's super good. I think we're similar in age. We raced as juniors. It's been fun to watch his career progress. I was there when he won Swisse, and then also there when he won Amstel. For me, it's one of those few guys in the bunch when you watch him win, you're genuinely happy for him. You're not just saying that because it's the right thing to say. He's one of the hardest-working guys in the team/peloton, in my opinion. It's motivating. Even spending those three weeks there, and seeing how he doesn't put one foot wrong in preparation is something I really admire.

I don't know. I think we both are super honest with each other when we race. A funny story is, when he won Amstel, before the start and the first two hours of the race, he kept telling me how he was going to be there to help me in the final. I'm like 'no, today's a preview, you guys are going way too fast'. When I was third in Montreal, we were basically arguing over who was going to do the final, trying to be like 'no,you should do it, no you should do it. It's just nice to have the one guy, whether it's him or my day, that we can fully trust each other. Also, we just get along well. We room together. It's nice to have that.

First, I really like it. I like to be in Tuscany, I like the riding there. I think it's super pretty. It helps and suits me well, and I've done well in the past. Actually, today, on my training ride with Mattias, we were talking about it, it's the one that, for me, I haven't done the big result there yet. Of course, but I've been so close that I can feel that it's possible. Even though you haven't done it, you still can scratch that itch. For me, I want to keep trying. Of course, it's a big race. We have not so many huge races that fit you. I like it. Of course, I like racing in Italy. I like the Italian fans.

I think so. At the end of the day, we only get paid because the TV is on. You have to perform and you have to do it well. You can't be doing stupid stuff but it's a sport that the more eyes are on us and are on the team and are on the sponsors, the more money we're all going to make. At the end of the day, this is our career. You only have 10 years now with how short our careers are to really get the most out of it you can. I think you owe it to yourself, you owe it to your sponsors, you owe it to the team to be a good representation of that and give people something to cheer for.

I think if we could put a rider on basically what we can call our home worlds, I mean it's Canada, but it's close enough. You can feel already at home with this group we have. Specifically the Tour is really the only race that matters to Americans. And the fact that we have four or five guys actually performing at the Tour again is... You can feel how excited people are.

I'll be on a training ride and be stopped at a gas station and some guy on his ranch clothes gets out of his truck. You would never expect him to be a bike racing fan. He's telling me how excited he is to watch us at the Tour and how nice it was to see the jersey there. So just little moments like that you can feel that with performance comes fans. We have a really good group to build on that right now.

This is funny because I see a lot of times people questioning my tactics that day. But I can promise one thing. If I wait until the last climb, I'm not even in the top 20 so I think the tactics went okay. But when you have someone like Tadej (Pogacar, ed.) chasing, unfortunately three minutes on the climb is not quite long enough. I started to dream of the podium. I think that was within reach. I just didn't quite have it over the top there. But I think for me it's podium or fourth. It would be nice to stand up there and have the picture. But I think I made my point.

Yeah, I think we can't be lining up and immediately giving up the win and just racing for second just because there's one guy who's better than us. We have to try everything. Whether it's there or any race. Again, like you said earlier with the entertainment, we owe it to ourselves and to the sport to try and win. We're not going to sit back and race for second.

Yeah, I think the biggest is the consistency and just not ever having to take a long period off with injury or sickness. Just building on that. Together with the performance team here and my coach, we really found a good balance that works for me with my time to prepare and get prepared up to at home, which is something I really need. And then building a race schedule that suits my capabilities.

If I can do a full season and not get hurt and have a month off the bike or two weeks off the bike, it really makes a difference. Once you start performing, well, it just kind of feeds on itself. I think for me, the biggest turning point, my win in Swiss was a big confidence boost, but it was actually really just the whole three weeks of the Tour where I could consistently be one of the best riders in the biggest bike race. Obviously, I didn't win a stage, but I think over the three weeks, I did everything I could. Being able to do that for three weeks instead of just one day was a big turning point for me.

I mean, I go to the U.S. and I train perfectly. I live 2,000 metres. I eat my diet perfect. I have perfect training routes. I have my dad there to motor pace me. I have people to ride with. Everything is flawless. I think with that mental freshness that comes out of being in a place you love with people that you love, you can fly in here and you see what happens when I come in happy.