Simmons is one of several riders Kessler points to as proof that power and resilience can outweigh a pure climber’s build. “He’s an amazing example of a guy who isn’t climber weight, but with his robustness, he can still perform on hard courses,” he referred to his compatriot’s fourth place from an early breakaway at Il Lombardia month ago.
In Lidl-Trek, he met many unique characters and one that left a mark at Kessler was ‘El tractor’ Tim Declercq. “I always looked up to Tim,” Cole said. “When he joined the team, it was really cool to talk to him at camps and pick his brain. I think it’s awesome to ride on the front all day and just make people hurt. It’s pretty fun.”
Quinn Simmons was the hero of 2025 Il Lombardia
Breakaways have always been (and still are) an inseparable part of cycling. However the recent years have seen fewer of the magic breakaway tales than in the past. Kessler offered his opinion why that is the case. “The death of the breakaway is probably mostly because of UAE Team Emirates and the way they ride,” he said. “For Pogacar to be successful, he needs such a hard pace all day.”
Still, he doesn’t believe the art of the escape is dead. “I don’t think the break is gone at all. That’s why you see riders fighting so hard for it in the Tour, huge power numbers in the first hour, everyone desperate to get up the road.”
Rushing too much
Following in the footsteps of Remco Evenepoel, Quinn Simmons was also promoted to WorldTour straight from juniors in 2020. But unlike the Belgian, Simmons quickly learnt that it’s not as simple to break through against the best riders in the world. Looking back, he might’ve chosen to take the path through under-23 categories as his progress stagnated for a long time before his talent was again allowed to shine in 2025.
Similarly, Paul Seixas and Albert Withen Philipsen have also moved straight into the prime division of cycling. And successfully. But Kessler believes the sport risks losing sight of endurance’s slow, natural progression by skipping the necessary development steps of racing in the under-23 category.
“Really, nobody should be going straight to the WorldTour out of juniors,” Kessler claims. “You don’t see many guys go straight from high school into the major leagues and pitch in the World Series as an 18-year-old.”
“Everybody wants the next Remco, the next Pogacar. They’re signing 15-, 16-, 17-, 18-year-old kids to WorldTour teams and forgetting how endurance sports work and that you get better as you get older. If you’re 18 and really good, be cautious. Maybe do two years under-23 before making the jump.”