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- American Quinn Simmons, 18, won the junior men’s road race at the UCI Road World Championships on Thursday. Italian Alessio Martinelli finished 56 seconds later in second place.
- American Magnus Sheffield won the bronze medal and joined his compatriot on the podium.
On Thursday, American Quinn Simmons from the LUX Cycling Development Team at the UCI Road World Championships. It’s the first time an American has won the race since Jeff Evanshine in 1991.
Simmons, 18, pulled ahead of the peloton in a risky solo breakaway, with roughly 33K still remaining in the race.
Italian cyclist Alessio Martinelli was determined to catch Simmons: He attacked with 20K to go. Despite breaking away and staying clear of the peloton, Martinelli was unable to reach him. Simmons finished 56 seconds behind in second place.
Fellow American Magnus Sheffield soon found himself joining Simmons on the podium, as he beat out four other cyclists in a sprint for the bronze medal.
“To win solo with a flag passed to me by my family is probably the coolest experience I’ll ever have in my life,” he told The Telegraph. “The support here was crazy as well—the largest crowd I’ve ever experienced in a junior race.”
Even before this victory, Simmons had as a junior cyclist. He was both this year’s and last year’s national junior road race champion, last year’s national junior cross-country mountain bike champion, and he finished second in this year’s edition of the notorious mountain bike race—one place ahead of seasoned pro cyclist Lachlan Morton.
He was also the first American to win the junior men’s race at with his victory earlier this year.
Prior to spending two years on the LUX Cycling Development Team, Simmons of his hometown Durango Devo development team. Just after Thursday’s race, he accepted a two-year contract with team , which will start next year.
The women’s junior road race and the men’s U23 road race will be held on Friday, with the elite road races to follow over the weekend.
