Quinn Simmons' dream of winning a Tour de France stage in the US national jersey is still alive

Quinn Simmons was completely outnumbered at the 2026 US National road race. Modern Adventure Pro Cycling brought twelve riders to Charleston, West Virginia, and then sent them up the road all day long. Simmons (Lidl-Trek) answered attack after attack, before showing the difference of a WorldTour rider. He landed the decisive blow with 29km to go, soloing to the finish and his third national title in the heat of Charleston, West Virginia. With his 3rd national title in the bag, he can turn his attention to his life long dream - winning a Tour de France stage in the stars and stripes. As expected, Lidl-Trek named Simmons in their Tour de France team on Monday.

The race ran to 198.6 kilometres. Riders tackled two laps of a short junior circuit before eight longer loops, adding the Bridge Road climb as the temperature pushed towards 30°C. After relentless attacking from Modern Adventure, WorldTour riders Simmons, Kevin Vermaerke, and Larry Warbasse whittled down the group to just 5. The top 3 would end up in exactly that order.

Modern Adventure set the tone from the gun. George Hincapie's 12-rider squad attacked again and again, forcing Simmons and the other favourites to chase down move after move. Robin Carpenter and Cole Kessler slipped clear at one stage. Later, Ian Lopez de San Roman and Kieran Haug built a lead of a minute. Each time the front of the race reshuffled, and each time Simmons had to respond.

"I think this year is definitely more difficult," Simmons said on the FloBikes broadcast. "Last year I was just coming off of a missing season with injuries, so hopefully a little bit more under the radar... today, I mean, it was 100 versus one, so I kind of just had to do it with the legs, and at times it was pretty frustrating."

The accelerations kept coming on the two key climbs, Wertz Avenue and Bridge Road. Halfway through the race, Simmons surged on the Bridge climb and dragged a small group across to the early move. Every selection thinned the field a little more.

With 29 kilometres to go, Simmons attacked once more on the Wertz Avenue climb. This time nobody followed. He pressed on alone, took on water and instructions from the team car, and stretched his advantage past a minute by the bell. He crossed the line solo, more than two minutes clear.

Behind him, the fight for the podium became a sprint. Kevin Vermaerke (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) attacked for second and just held off a fast-finishing Larry Warbasse (Tudor Pro Cycling), who took third at 2:05. Ashlin Barry (Visma | Lease a Bike Development), crowned under-23 champion the day before, came home fourth. Modern Adventure’s attacking endeavour was rewarded with a top five for Tyler Stites.

"I knew as long as I could make it to the point where everyone else is tired, there was a good chance I could get away," Simmons said afterwards.

It is a third stars-and-stripes road race title for the 24-year-old, after wins in 2023 and 2025. The victory caps a six-day championship in Charleston that also handed the elite men's time trial to Artem Shmidt (Netcompany Ineos) and the criterium to Luke Elphingstone (Project Echelon Racing). In the women’s road race, Kate Courtney won her first national title.

The win came only weeks after Simmons won from the breakaway at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. His season has been building steadily since his first WorldTour win in 2025, and the form seems to arrive at the right moment. Next on the calendar is the Tour de France, where Simmons is pushing for a fourth start. Wherever he races next, Simmons will be wearing the distinctive Stars and Stripes national champion's jersey.

"I'm on a flight tomorrow, back to the Tour," said Simmons, after the race. "It'll be the third year I get to wear the jersey in the biggest bike race in the world, for me that's super special. As an American I love to race in that jersey in Europe. I've been lucky enough to win twice in it too, which is pretty special. My biggest dream is to win a stage wearing the jersey."