25 kilometers of racing? Winner Simmons would’ve skipped it: “I voted not to start”

“It’s probably the strangest day of my career,” Simmons began in his flash interview after the victory. “First we were going to race, then not, then a short race, then two laps… In the end we did only 28 kilometers. It’s a bit surprising to be here, because I was actually one of the riders who voted not to start when I felt the wind today. But in the end, it’s a WorldTour race—and my first WorldTour win—so that’s super special.”

Beforehand, they talked about a 118-kilometer stage, then 146 kilometers. In the end, most of the race was neutralized. "No one knew what was going on. And when the race is that short, it obviously becomes super nervous. We didn’t even know when the start would happen. I was between the cars taking off my leg warmers, so I ended up in the third group during the descent. I managed to ride up solo. Two kilometers after the flag dropped, I thought my day might already be over—it was totally crazy."

That Simmons ended up winning here was anything but a given. “I wasn’t even supposed to be here—I got a call on Thursday to come here,” said the 23-year-old American. “It’s really special to get my first WorldTour win, especially with my family watching on TV. My girlfriend and brother will be at the finish tomorrow, and since I live in Girona, this almost feels like a home race—especially with there being no races in the U.S.”

There’s still one stage to go in Catalonia, and Sunday will bring another ultra-short stage: just 88 kilometers in Barcelona. But with six laps of Montjuïc, it’s bound to be full of action. “It’ll probably have the same intensity as today, just a little longer,” Simmons analyzed. “But with around 80 kilometers, it’s going to be flat out from the start. My biggest goal for the week was actually tomorrow, but I got the job done a day early. We’ll go for a nice bonus tomorrow, but the team can already go home happy—and me even more so.”