Quinn Simmons will return to racing after five-month absence from the peloton - "One year ago today I made probably the worst decision of my career"

Quinn Simmons is a promising rider and despite being only 23 years old his career has already gotten through lots of ups and downs. The past year, psychologically, has been very hard on the American rider but after a long break from the sport he is now soon to make a comeback with lots of motivation.

In the 2023 Tour de France, weeks after winning the American road race national title, he suffered a crash which left him injured but decided to continue the race. This left his physically and psychologically bruised, ultimately also leading to no positive result as he abandoned the race a few days later.

"One year ago today I made probably the worst decision of my career and got back on the bike. Been a fight, but things are finally starting to look better," Simmons shared in an Instagram post. What followed after that Tour was two months away from racing, but his return at the Cro Race proved to be fruitless and his season ended shortly after. He began the 2024 campaign with a full Australian summer of racing before making the journey to Europe for the spring classics, but he was not near the front and after withdrawing from Strade Bianche he never raced again.

it was a difficult period for the American who couldn't find his form, but admitted he was also heavily affected by the death of Gino Mäder at the Tour de Suisse. “After the Tour de Suisse, I flew home and I was pretty convinced I was never going to race a bike again," he had said at the time. "Just with the crash there, and seeing what happened. I got on that plane and I was fairly convinced in my head I was never going back to Europe".

After Strade Bianche he returned to America and decided he needed a full reset. He has now not raced in almost five months but is provisionally in the startlist for the Vuelta a Burgos, which could mark his return to Europe and professional racing - also with the potential to build on a Vuelta a España return. "Hopefully a month of proper training to come and then back across the pond in August," he concluded.