The Tour de France's best domestique - American champion Quinn Simmons once again awarded in Paris
Cycling
The United States of America were on the podium of the 2026 Tour de France, not through one of its riders finishing on the Top3, but rather due to Quinn Simmons, who has been awarded the 'top domestique' award for a second year in a row.
Simmons the best Tour de France domestique for two years in a row
The USA did not have the flashiest Tour when it comes to results, not taking any stage win and not having any of its riders featuring in the battle for any of the race's jerseys. Lidl-Trek, formerly an American team, won the team's classification - but over the winter, its license has changed to Germany.
However the North American nation could enjoy the triumph of one of its riders: Quinn Simmons. In 2025, 'Captain America' was already awarded with the top domestique award, and this time around his work was once again not unnoticed.
Simmons has achieved this due to the work provided for his team. In the end, he contributed to the victory in the teams' classification, the green jersey conquered by Mads Pedersen; as well as the Top10 results of Mattias Skjelmose and Juan Ayuso.
Quinn Simmons was the 2026 Tour de France's top domestique
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A reward after a race giving it his all for the team
It is not by chance that Simmons has once again conquered this award. In 2025, his work chasing down breakaways on the flat days for Jonathan Milan was combined with his own stage hunting ambitions. At the end of the day, his results were put on a secondary role whilst his supporting duties were the most noticeable throughout large hours at the race.
And this time around the situation was not very different. Mads Pedersen won the points classification, and much of it was due to Simmons' own work. The American didn't spend time chasing down breakaways on pan-flat days this time around, but was often leading out Pedersen into bunch and intermediate sprints, despite being far from his specialty.
The 25-year old was often attacking to form breakaways that could steal the points from the likes of Jasper Philipsen and Biniam Girmay; he was often present with Mads Pedersen himself in the breakaways and working for the Dane... On stage 4, the Dane's win was much due to the work of Simmons and Mathias Vacek who controlled the attacks and rode the team into its sole stage win.
But despite achieving this result and putting in endless work, this continued to be the case all the way to Paris. Simmons was present in seven breakaways throughout the race, proving to not only be an aid for Pedersen, but also a sattelite rider for Juan Ayuso and Mattias Skjelmose who aimed for the overall classification.
On stage 15 to Plateau de Solaison he got an opportunity and, if it weren't for UAE and Visma's chase, he could've taken the stage win. On stage 19 finishing atop Alpe d'Huez, he crossed the line together with Juan Ayuso who had cracked on the final ascent and lost time to his rivals.
His selflessness was also accepted, and despite the honest words to the media, he remained loyal to his leaders: “The team has made it obvious that they care more about Mads winning the green jersey than about me winning a stage. At the end of the day, they write my paycheck, so I have to do what I am told.”
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- Hmmm, you seem to have a very convenient black and white view of things. Perhaps you haven’t been around much to discover how complex problems can become over time with people who know how to control, manipulate (or worse) others so gradually or subtly that you arrive at an irresolvable situation before you realise. This is how many inconveniences get introduced to the young, naïve, passionate or “desperate”, knowing they are not armed, protected or strong enough to defend themselves once it’s too late. Why do you think omerta culture is so widespread, why do you think so many people continue to go through so many awful things in life that others can’t understand anyone getting into? Life may be far more jolly for you but you would do well to understand (or reflect more on) the real world to refrain from being so quick to criticise those in a hard spot that may have genuine reason for speaking out.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Seriously do you think when somebody gets into a serious accident, the ambulance is called by the hurt person?🤦 there is always a buddy system in place for a risky job. police , firefighters etc so that if someone gets hurt, the other call that in.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
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