Quinn Simmons back on track and eager for consistent 2025 - "As a junior I was one of the best ever"

In 2019 Quinn Simmons was Junior World Champion and won countless races, showing himself as a true top talent in the world of cycling. He has struggled to be consistent over the past few years but is looking forward to be consistent in 2025, something he believes could see him back to the top.

He took several months off of racing this year but this did allow him to reset and then have a strong end of the season. "It was good to see that I was back because it had been almost two years since I had been at the front in a big race like this," he said to Velo, finishing the Tour of Guangxi in 10th place today. He was recently ninth at the World Championships, even though he doesn't believe he raced smartly.

"Now I look back and see how I was on the limit to follow Pogacar. I was two laps off, only to come back and finish ninth. It's a small result, but I did it in the most inefficient way possible," he describes it. "The other guys who tried to follow didn't even finish. I'm sure that if I rode the race better, I could have fought for a medal. It's my fault. My legs were good enough to be on the podium".

Simmons has a lot of belief in himself, and grows a lot of confidence from the training numbers that he gets: "I'm not going to sell myself short, because I see what I can do in training. I know that there are a lot of guys who can't do what I can. But I also know that there are guys who can do more. I would be lying if I said it wasn't annoying. As a junior I was one of the best ever. But I haven't had an easy road to the top either"," he added.

The 23-year old still has a contract with Lidl-Trek until 2026 and so he will continue to have stability when it comes to his team, who hope to see him get back to his best specially after two winters of major signings.

"My neo-pro year was ruined by the coronavirus. I had a lot of crashes and a lot of problems. I believe that if I can just ride a full season, I can be among the top. I know I can't do what the crazy freaks of the sport can do, but I believe I can win at least one big race. As soon as I stop believing that, I'll stop cycling. For me, it's pointless to continue if I can't win in big races," he concluded.