Quinn Simmons has tried time after time to score a stage win at his debut Tour de France, the American making the breakaway for a fifth time on stage 19 to Cahors. However, once again, he was denied but could console himself with a podium appearance and combativity award on Friday.
The 21-year-old American is the youngest rider in the 2022 Tour de France and has logged around 600km in breakaways during the Tour, across the stages to Longwy, Megève, Saint-Etienne, Mende, and Cahors.
Speaking after stage 19, Simmons said it had been an "up and down" Tour, having not quite scored the victory he wanted, but having been part of a successful race for his Trek-Segafredo team, helping Mads Pedersen to a breakaway win in Saint-Etienne.
"I think it's been OK, especially to be there when Mads won his stage; it was a really nice highlight," Simmons said. "It's been up and down. For sure the first week wasn't quite what I wanted. Roubaix day especially was a low point for me.
"I hope to the team that I proved a point that they made a good selection bringing me, and I hope to be back next year."
His ride on stage 19 saw Simmons survive as the last man standing from the original break of the fast-paced day, where he was joined by Nils Politt, Matej Mohorič, Taco van der Hoorn, and Mikkel Honoré. The move was kept on a tight leash by the peloton and never looked like succeeding as their advantage never grew over a minute.
Simmons stuck it out until the top of the day's final climb – the penultimate classified climb of the Tour – before he was brought back at 35km to go. He said later that feeling as good as he did in the last week of his first Tour was a good sign.
"The legs are still good, so I think in the third week that's a good sign," he said. "Obviously, I lacked the top result on a stage a bit in these three weeks but for next year and the coming years, it's a confidence boost.
"With the way the wind was, we thought maybe there's a chance that at the start it goes crazy, and a big group goes, so I just wanted to get up the road. It was pretty obvious early on that it wasn't going to happen. If you're in the front of the Tour you have to enjoy it a bit."
This season, Simmons has shown that he can perform on the climbs – see his KOM jerseys from Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour de Suisse – in addition to his strengths on the flat and in the hills.
As far as being a rider who can perform on all manner of terrain, Simmons said that he's still figuring out how far he can go – understandable for a rider still in the midst of his second year as a professional.
"I wouldn't say I've surprised myself here, already knowing what I can do and with the Vuelta already in the legs," he said. "But you take a big step every time you finish a Grand Tour when you're young. I think all the hard days and the work here only pays off next year.
"I'm still trying to figure out what I can and can't do. On some of the climbing days, I push a bit just to see where I can be. I try and do a good job in the lead-outs and do a bit of everything because I really don't know where the limit is.
"It's hard to be too proud of being the youngest rider because at my age Pogačar already won it," he added, referring to his status as the youngest man in the Tour. "But for me it's nice. Two to three years to see how I'll be – I hope it's better."
