After a year of mental resilience, former top talent Simmons shows his potential on... the most famous hill in the Netherlands!

Quinn Simmons is back. The 23-year-old American, who was the junior world champion in 2019, struggled for a long time with the aftereffects of a concussion but now seems to have put that period behind him. If it's up to the friendly man from Durango, we'll see him at the front in the big races again soon. IDLProCycling.com spoke with him!

Simmons already has one significant victory under his belt, although it doesn't appear on his official record: just before the start of the Renewi Tour, he took the KOM on the Cauberg, the famous climb of the Amstel Gold Race and a well-known hill throughout the Netherlands. Ricky Bobby, as he’s known on Strava, took 1 minute and 27 seconds to complete the climb, matching Philippe Gilbert’s record time from 2020.

For the record: the time of 1 minute and 27 seconds equates to an average speed of 32.1 (!) kilometers per hour on a hill with an average gradient of 8.6 percent. Tom Pidcock, who finished second in the 2021 Amstel Gold Race, was even one second slower that year. "It's a nice record to have, right?" Simmons laughs when we bring it up.

"It wasn't really a goal. We were just returning from our training, and I felt like I had good legs, so I thought I’d give it a go. We just happened to be on the route," says Simmons. And that’s already a victory in itself, considering that almost half a year ago, he returned disillusioned to the United States because he was still suffering too much from a crash in the 2023 Tour.

Simmons has had his share of mental toughness after 2023

2023 was certainly a rollercoaster year for the former top talent. He alerted emergency services after witnessing Gino Mäder’s fatal crash in the Tour of Switzerland, rushed back to America to become the national champion, and then quickly flew back to Europe for the start of the Tour de France. Once in France, he crashed hard on day five. Just as quickly, as shown in the images below, the dizzy Simmons got back on his bike, a decision he would regret for a long time.

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Determined to show off his Stars & Stripes jersey, he continued riding for several more days. It wasn't until stage nine that he finally called it quits. "Disappointed doesn't even begin to cover it," he said at the time. "I had set my whole season around being in top form for this Tour, but that's just how this sport is, right?" he added, stating he wanted to make a quick comeback.

He eventually did make a comeback in late September at the CRO Race and Binche-Chimay-Binche, but it turned out to be too soon. On the day of his crash, July 5th, he reflected on that decision: "Getting back on the bike then was probably the worst decision of my career. I’m finally starting to feel better now, and I hope to be back on the other side of the ocean soon." Simmons had initially aimed for Strade Bianche this spring but then decided to take a real step back.

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We wondered what that period was like for him. "It has been a tough year, and I’m still not at my best, but I feel like I’m getting better and hope to continue on this path towards the end of the season," said the true American.

Simmons missed Europe during the Tour de France

"I made a mistake by returning to racing last year, which prolonged my recovery," he reflects. "When it became clear that I needed a proper rehabilitation, the team gave me the support I needed. I didn’t race for five months, so I really waited until I was ready to compete again."

That meant a long period of uncertainty. "I finally made the decision just before the Tour of Burgos after I got good results back from the doctors. The power meter also showed good numbers," says Simmons, who eventually realized things couldn’t continue the way they were.

"Maybe I did start to miss Europe, but here’s the thing: if you’re not feeling well, and that’s also the case on the bike, then you don’t really miss it," he explains. "But once the Tour de France started, I felt like I began to miss it all. When you're watching the Tour on TV, you get that urge again. But I focused entirely on a good recovery, which was hard enough as it was. I was also set to compete in the Olympics initially, so missing out on that was a real disappointment."

Well, we might see him at the front this Sunday in the queen stage of the Renewi Tour. What’s next after that? "I will do the Canadian races. Quebec is a great race, while Montreal is, of course, quite tough. The World Championships are usually on the schedule as well, and I would also like to do a few one-day races after that. There are still opportunities, but ultimately I just need to get back to racing and find my place in the peloton again." And you already have that KOM on the Cauberg, Quinn!