Quinn Simmons quietly confident heading into Strade Bianche as he "hopes to improve his result in comparison with the previous years"

As the 2023 edition of Strade Bianche nears, there will surely be many of the pelotons finest hoping for success. One of those quietly confident is Trek-Segrafredo's, Quinn Simmons.

Finishing 7th last year, 1:21 down on eventual winner Tadej Pogacar, Simmons is all set to mount a victory challenge yet again this time around. With a top 10 finish at the Vuelta a San Juan already in his legs, including just his third career victory on stage three of the Argentine race, the 21-year-old American could be coming into form at the right time.

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The only other time Simmons raced at Strade Bianche was back in 2021. Riding amongst the lead group alongside Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel, Egan Bernal, Michael Gogl, Tom Pidcock, Julian Alaphilippe and Tadej Pogacar, Simmons looked set to battle it out for the win.

Sadly for the talented young American, an ill-timed puncture put an end to his hopes of victory and then to make matters worse for Simmons a crash in the second group saw him fall completely out of contention, eventually finishing 54th nearly seven and a half minutes off the race winner. As he reflects, "Very good legs, very bad luck."