Quinn Simmons makes the case for American cycling after World Championship glory: ‘Not as dead as people like to say'

Simmons rides his final race of 2026 at the Japan Cup in Utsunomiya on Sunday. It caps a 51-race season that brought a second US national road race title and fourth place at the World Championships in Montreal.

Simmons played a central role in McNulty’s win. With 85km to go, he went on the attack with Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert. Once McNulty made his move, Simmons switched roles. Alongside Matteo Jorgenson, he marked attacks and disrupted the chase behind.

The effort was enormous. Simmons’ Strava data later revealed he averaged almost 350 watts over the final 170km. Like the rest of the eight-man US team, he is still riding the high.

“It was a huge day for American cycling, we probably haven’t even realised how big of a day it was yet,” Simmons said.

“It was 33 years since we took the jersey and then we did it in the fashion that we did it. It’s something that will highlight a lot of our careers.”

Montreal was not an isolated success. Ashlin Barry won the men’s under-23 road race title at the same championships, and Kristen Faulkner is the reigning Olympic road race champion.

“In some ways, I’d say it’s kicking on. Maybe there’s only 14 or so WorldTour riders but the top ten of us are quite good riders,” Simmons said.

For Simmons, the lack of big American races comes down to money.

“US cycling is not as dead as people like to say. Maybe we’re missing US races but the American financial model won’t do something that loses money.

“Until cycling finds a way to profit off its spectators, you’re not going to find big American companies willing to lose money to put on races. I think cycling needs to change before it will grow in the US.”

Simmons is broadly happy with his season, but two big targets slipped away.

“It’s been good but I’ve also missed my two biggest objectives, so there’s some disappointment there,” he said.

“I have to be happy with the way I’ve ridden. I think I took a step up from last year, even though I haven’t won a lot. I’ve shown that I’m at least in the game for the big races. I just missed that final piece. It’s better to be in this position than to be completely out of the fight, so I can at least be happy that I’ve been in the fight.”

Simmons won the junior world title in Yorkshire in 2019 and went straight to the WorldTour with Trek-Segafredo. Seven seasons later, he has nine professional wins but is still waiting for his breakthrough in the Classics.

“I’ve been quite close for a number of years at a lot of big races, but I just haven’t quite done it,” he said. “I still believe I can figure it out but maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll never reach the top level. But at least I’m still trying and I still believe in it.”

Simmons finished second on stage 2 of the Tour de France behind teammate Mads Pedersen, after 168km in the breakaway. He made six more breakaways in his hunt for a stage win. He had to work for Pedersen’s green jersey bid throughout the 2026 Tour, but he wasn’t always happy about it.

His efforts earned him the Tour’s Best Teammate award for the second year running.

“The Tour was super fun,” Simmons said. “I think I did a similar Tour to last year and this year I came even a few percent better. My performance showed that. Of course, I wanted the stage but I have to be happier with the way I was riding. If I keep building like this, next year can be even better.”

Next year, the competition for places will be fierce. Filippo Ganna and Jordi Meeus join a Lidl-Trek Classics group that already includes Pedersen, Toms Skujiņš, Jonathan Milan, Mathias Vacek, Albert Withen Philipsen and Jakob Söderqvist.

For the Tour de France, Felix Gall arrives to join Juan Ayuso, Derek Gee-West and others in the GC stable.

Simmons has fought for his place before, and he will do it again. Admitting the 2027 World Championships in France are tough for him, he has already set his sights on July.

“For sure, my eyes are already on the Tour,” he said.

A return to Strade Bianche is possible despite his run of crashes and bad luck there, and the Tour of Flanders could also feature.

“Maybe we give Flanders a crack, we’ll still have to see with the team,” Simmons said. “But now for me, the biggest objective every year will be the Tour.”