When someone mentions the name Quinn Simmons, a few things probably come to mind: these days, it’s probably his Hulk Hogan-esque moustache or the long, flowing hair whipping from the back of his helmet. Maybe it’s the fact that Simmons is currently wearing the stars and stripes jersey the United States’ national champion.
Of course, a cursory and wholly unscientific examination of the comments section of any social media that mentions the 24-year-old Lidl-Trek rider reveals that his politically charged social media actions back in 2020 are still at the front of many cycling fan’s minds.
And whether you’ve been one of those commentators or are just now learning about the Twitter tete which led to a monthlong suspension by his team, there’s probably plenty you don’t know about Quinn Simmons.
For instance, if you’re watching this year’s Tour de France, it’s obvious that Simmons is the current U.S. National Champion and becoming quite the playmaker, too. But did you know that this isn't his first stint in the stars-and-stripes jersey? He's even worn a rainbow jersey before.
He’s also enjoyed some success on the WorldTour stage, winning a stage at the 2022 Tour de Wallonie. That same year, he won the KOM jersey at the Tour de Suisse. Earlier this season, he returned to the Tour de Suisse and won the third stage, dedicating his win to Gino Mäder, who was tragically killed in the race two years prior.
You also probably know that he feels comfortable in a breakaway but did you know that he spent some 600 total kilometers in breaks in the 2022 Tour de France, his first go at the Grand Boucle?
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(Image credit: Getty Images)
He’s the only American on an American team
Lidl-Trek might be registered as an American team but, of the 30 riders currently on their roster, Simmons is the only Yank. Granted, unlike, say Groupama-FDJ, whose stable is almost wholly French, or Uno-X Mobility, 20 of whose 27 riders are Norwegian, Lidl-Trek’s team represents nearly all corners of the cycling world. There are Italians, South Africans, Spaniards, Eritreans, Dutchmen, Germans, and Danes.
However, Simmons is the lone American on the team, which, though based in Belgium, has been registered in the States since 2014.
Speaking of his Americanness…
In 2019, Simmons launched a breathtaking attack at the junior world championships some thirty kilometers from the finish. When he crossed the line first in Yorkshire, he became the first American to win that race since Jeff Evanshine’s 1991 victory.
Simmons won the 2019 UCI World Championships Junior Road Race
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Before cycling, he was talented at ski mountaineering
It makes sense, considering he was raised in Durango, Colorado, one of America’s premier destinations for outdoor activity.
But before he climbed on a bike (professionally, at least), Simmons was sharpening his skills in ski mountaineering, which is a discipline in which athletes either skin or hike up mountains before skiing down them.
He finished third in the junior category in the 2017 ski mountaineering world championships.
Perhaps Simmons will return to his roots for the 2026 Winter Olympics, where ski mountaineering will make its debut in the Games. But probably not.
Fun fact about this fun fact: the shorthand for ski mountaineering is “skimo,” which this writer thinks is just delightful.
He goes up rocks, too
A few years back, Simmons had a rest day in his training block. Rather than kick back on the couch, he and his father headed to popular rock-climbing spot, pulled on their harnesses, and headed up.
Within a year of shifting his focus from ski mountaineering to road cycling, he won both the U.S. junior national road race and time trials. The following year, in 2019, he won the world junior road race championship, after which, he signed his first WorldTour deal with the team, which was then called Trek-Segafredo.
Of course, that success was no doubt bolstered by the fact that he spent much of his teen years racing mountain bikes, even winning a U.S. national mountain bike championship.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
He skipped the U23 ranks entirely
By now, it’s hardly news that the peloton is getting younger. It seems like cycling’s new paradigm is for many riders to chase success before their twenty-fifth birthday.
Quinn Simmons is no exception.
In 2020, Simmons opted to skip his U23 development phase entirely when he signed to Lidl-Trek’s WorldTour team, going straight from the junior ranks to the fastest, strongest peloton on Earth.
His younger brother is also a pro cyclist
(Image credit: EF Education-EasyPost)
Quinn’s younger brother Colby can often be seen in the pink and white of another American outfit, EF Education-EasyPost. Just 21, the younger Simmons has enjoyed some impressive outings, finishing in the top five in this year’s road race and criterium national championships.
Michael Venutolo-Mantovani is a writer and musician who has been riding and racing bikes in one form or another for nearly forty years. He's an avid road and track cyclist, a reluctant gravel rider, and a rather terrible mountain biker. At the urging of his six-year-old son, he's recently returned to BMX racing for the first time in thirty-one years. His favorite ride on Earth is the Col de la Forclaz, high above France's Lake Annecy. He has contributed to the New York Times, GQ, National Geographic, Wired, and Condé Nast Traveler. Though he's recently fallen madly in love with London, Michael lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA with his wife and their children.
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