'They went really fast, and I didn't' - Quinn Simmons finishes 9th at Leadville

Quinn Simmons decided to race the Leadville Trail 100 only last Friday. The Lidl-Trek racer was one of the most aggressive riders of the Tour de France, and the announcement that he would be lining up against the top Life Time Grand Prix racers in Colorado was one of the most talked-about narratives ahead of the race.

"I decided on Friday last week," Simmons said. "It was kind of just like I've always talked about coming, and I was home. Trek has a team here, and they can support me. So yeah, I asked if I could do it, and they said sure."

Simmons made it to the largest climb of the day with the lead group of race favourites, including reigning Leadville and world champion Keegan Swenson (Specialized Off-Road), podium contender and ski-mo racer John Gaston (STRAFE-Specialized), and previous world champion Andreas Seewald (Singer KTM Racing).

The only problem, Simmons said, is his training was "non-existent" between the Tour and now.

"We had a pretty big group into the main climb there," Simmons said after crossing the finish line in ninth place. "Then they went really fast, and I didn't. That was the end of the race for me."

Swenson won the race in a two-up sprint against Matthew Wilson (Scott Sports). Simmons rolled through the finish line more than 8 minutes later.

The lead group started to split when Swenson pushed the pace on the Columbine climb, which peaks at more than 12,000 feet above sea level.

"I knew what I had to push to get over it, and I just didn't have the legs to push that," Simmons said of the long climb.

Simmons raced Leadville 100 seven years ago as an 18-year-old, and finished second to 2016 Olympian mountain biker Howard Grotts. Since then, the competition at Leadville has gotten significantly faster and more competitive, with the Life Time Grand Prix attracting top talent. Swenson’s win this year was his sixth in a row, tying the all-time win record of Dave Wiens.

Simmons wasn’t the only Tour de France rider to race Leadville this year. Canyon-SRAM rider Rosa Kloser lined up at Leadville fresh off the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, but the Life Time Grand Prix contender did not factor at the front of Leadville.

The rest of Simmons’ season will see him racing the Philly Cycling Classic, the Canadian one-day classics, and the world championships in Montreal. He said he’d like to come back to Leadville with a bit more preparation.

"It's a little bit tricky because next year it interferes with the Worlds, and the year after is Olympics time. But yeah, I'd like to come back maybe a little more prepared."

The Trek rider has been open about his ambition of racing ski-mo at the 2030 Winter Olympic Games, but any winter pursuits depend on his off-season training, he said.

"I like to train on the skis," he said. "We leave for our winter training camps beginning in December. I need an early November storm if I'm going to ski too much. If we get it, I'll take it."