It's easy to get lost watching the favourites at the Tour of Flanders. So many giants of the sport turn up and are, little by little, sloughed off the front group in an attritional meat grinder of a race.
Sunday's headlines will be grabbed by Tadej Pogačar, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, and the Lidl-Trek double act of Mads Petersen and Jasper Stuyven, but spare a thought though, once you've digested the results at the top of the billing, for Colby Simmons, for whom the 269km Monument wasn't just his longest-ever race, but his longest-ever ride full stop. Following the conclusion, Simmons told Velo and Cyclingnews of his big day out.
Despite the scale of his ride, the Durango-born rider was about as upbeat as I've seen anyone at the end of a monument. He's fresh-faced and was positively jubilant despite the brutal nature of Flanders, helped by being relatively junior at only 21.
"It was about yeah, two weeks ago or so. I knew I got the contract, and once you get the offer, it's something you can't say no to. And with an American team especially, it's even cooler."
Most people in a normal career would at least allow themselves a period of bedding into a new role before taking on a big challenge. Professional cycling isn't a normal job, though, so it was very much in at the deep end for Simmons, younger brother of Lidl-Trek's Quinn Simmons.
"About a week or a week and a half or so ago. They said there might be a possibility with some guys getting injured and such. And then, yeah, it's something that you can't say no to; it's just super special!"
A new job, and one of the biggest challenges in one's career, all in the space of a fortnight should be more than enough to allow Simmons to be happy with his 94th-place result.
To add a final, exhausting cherry on top, it also transpires that the 2025 Tour of Flanders was not only Simmons' longest race to date but his longest-ever ride full stop.
"Yeah, longest race, longest ride… it's crazy," he said, and, despite the clear fatigue, Simmons could recount the sensations from the race with a smile.
"I thought I was feeling pretty good, but then it turns out they hadn't started going hard yet," he said. "Once they decided to rip it up the Kwaremont the second time… that was all she wrote. Suffering, suffering the whole time. But yeah, happy. Happy to get to the end.
"I'm happy, just happy. Happy to finish and then do what I could for the team. And I think it went well."
Perhaps now he can rest, though that will be limited as the whistlestop tour of the world's biggest races continues. What's next?
"Roubaix, so another Monument, which is super cool. I love it. It's an opportunity that not everyone gets, so I'll take it for sure."
Considering Simmons is one of the junior members of the peloton, suddenly cast into a situation where he's racing against riders he's probably idolised for some time, he was frank about being a little starstruck when it comes to racing against Pogačar, Van der Poel, et. al.
However, he was realistic about the probable outcomes when it came to facing off against such storied athletes.
"It's definitely, definitely super special, but at the end of the day they're here racing and we're here racing, and then of course they're better than everyone. But you can try, try, and try and beat them, but it is what it is."
Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our 2025 Spring Classics coverage. Don't miss any of the breaking news, reports, and analysis from all the Cobbled Classics from Opening Weekend to Paris-Roubaix. Find out more
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.