{"id":785822,"date":"2026-09-29T00:34:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T00:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/785822\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T00:34:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T00:34:12","slug":"huge-strava-numbers-from-simmons-show-how-the-race-was-won","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/785822\/","title":{"rendered":"Huge Strava numbers from Simmons show how the race was won"},"content":{"rendered":"

“In cycling, you make a plan so often, and things don’t go well. Every year, we lose so many races.” That’s how Quinn Simmons<\/a> began his interview with NOS<\/a> after Sunday’s road race. He and Matteo Jorgenson<\/a> actually couldn’t quite believe right away that the U.S. had won the 2026 World Cycling Championships. Perhaps the champagne party<\/a> helped them realise their victory, but Simmons\u2019 stats on his Strava account<\/a> showed that he gave it his all to contribute to the win.As all eyes were on Belgium in Montreal, USA snuck under the radar<\/p>\n

All eyes were on the Belgians in Montreal, who\u2014with Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoel, plus a rock-solid lineup\u2014seemed to be the favorites. But it was the United States that firmly held the reins in the final. Simmons made the first move, after which McNulty countered. Simmons and Jorgenson were then invaluable to their teammate in the chase.<\/p>\n

That sacrifice was absolutely essential to clinch the world title<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019re all on different teams, but after last night\u2019s meeting, we said: \u2018No matter what, an American has to finish on the podium,\u2019\u201d Simmons explains. \u201cI said, \u2018Hey guys, anything is possible. We\u2019re racing for the podium, but we can do even better if we ride like this.\u201d And that\u2019s exactly what we did.\u201d\u2018Hey guys, anything is possible. We\u2019re racing for the podium, but we can do even better if we ride like this.\u201d And that\u2019s exactly what we did.\u201d- Quinn Simmons the night before the 2026 World Championship road race<\/p>\n

Simmons himself was also extremely active in Montr\u00e9al, especially in the early stages of the final. The 25-year-old American tagged along with Van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel when they made their move 90 kilometers from the finish. It was a long way\u2014still a very long way\u2014but for Captain America, there was no choice. He knew he had to stay with them.<\/p>\n

Read more below the photo!<\/p>\n

\"quinn-simmons\"\/Simmons kept pace with Van der Poel and Van Aert: ‘It gave us two options to win’<\/p>\n

“If Van der Poel and Wout make a move, you have to trust their instincts. I think they’re pretty good cyclists,” he laughs. “I also knew that if the better climbers went, I probably wouldn’t be able to keep up. Being up there at the front and giving Jorgenson and McNulty a chance to sit on gave us two options to win.”<\/p>\n

Simmons did indeed struggle on the climbs in the final, but thanks to some squabbling among the chasers, he was able to catch up again and do his job for McNulty. Once the victory was secured, the American champion joined the battle for the medals. He fell just short with a fourth-place finish, but that doesn\u2019t bother him. \u201cWhatever! Who cares about missing a medal when your team takes the jersey?\u201d<\/p>\n

Simmons Strava numbers show how hard the World Championships wasAnd so the U.S. ended up with three riders in the top ten: Jorgenson finished eighth<\/a>. It was a top-notch race by the Americans, and Simmons made a great impression.He showed via his Strava<\/a> that the race was even crazier than we saw: over nearly 6.5 hours of racing, Simmons averaged 291 watts, with a normalized power of 361 watts. The peak? Nearly 1,100. \u201cSomeone, play \u2018Freebird\u2019!\u201d reads Ricky Bobby\u2019s caption.