Sometimes a single gesture can say it all, and when Tour de Suisse stage 3 winner Quinn Simmons pointed his right arm upwards to the sky in tribute and homage to Gino Mäder as he crossed the finish line, his action truly spoke volumes.
Almost exactly two years ago, on June 16, 2023, Mäder died in hospital as a result of injuries sustained the day before in the Tour de Suisse, when he fell badly on the descent of the Albula pass.
Part of the Tour de Suisse peloton that day and back in the same race for the first time this year, Simmons explained that he had wanted to honour Mäder's memory in the best way possible, by being able to dedicate him a win on home soil.
That wish became possible as the Lidl-Trek rider formed a part of a daylong break of 190 kilometres on stage 3 from Aaru to Heiden. He finally took off from the last remaining riders from the original six-man move with 20 kilometres left and stayed ahead for a hard-fought solo victory.
"To be honest, in the beginning, when there were only six of us, I was doubting a bit, but the motivation was super-high today," Simmons said afterwards about a victory that had been nearly five hours in the making.
"To be honest, I really wanted to win yesterday [Monday], the two-year anniversary of when we lost Gino, and I really wanted to win and dedicate that to him. I do it a day late."
To say that racing in the Tour de Suisse again was emotionally charged for Simmons would be a major understatement, or as he put it, "It's really hard for me to be here again, especially seeing his mother at the start. But now I can pay a bit of a tribute, and for sure I had extra motivation today and" - after failing to make it into the break on Monday - "a little bit of frustration [too]."
Although there were some scattergun attempts to regroup in the final kilometres on the draggy uphill to Heiden, most notably by fellow-American Neilson Powless (EF Education-First), Simmons finally crossed the line with 18 seconds to spare.
He explained afterwards that his combination of victory salutes, first flapping his arms in a bird-like 'I can fly' gesture then pointing at the sky, were his way of first acknowledging his managing to win in the US national champion's jersey - then after that, and as he crossed the line itself, remembering Mäder.
"The first part was for me, as 'the eagle' in my new jersey. Last time I was in this jersey, I never won a bike race, I had a terrible season, and it was a huge motivation for me to win in the American champion's jersey."
"I'm not sure when the last time that happened at WorldTour level. And the final [gesture] was just to say the dedication was for him."
This is not the first time Simmons has dedicated a win to Mäder. Back in 2023, in the aftermath of the Swiss racer's accident, asSimmons subsequently told Velo he was "pretty convinced he would never race again." Instead, he returned to the States, regrouped mentally and took the US road title. There was no doubt, though, for whom that win was taken.
Asked if this was the biggest victory of his career of seven to date, Simmons said, "To win a WorldTour race in my national champion's jersey - for sure it is up there."
Simmons' latest triumph is his third of 2025, following a victory from a late attack in the truncated stage 6 of the Volta Catalunya, then a second solo win in the American National Championships, by nearly three minutes. His third lone victory of the season, though, as he honoured the memory of Mäder, will surely remain the one which mattered to him the most.
