Colby Simmons is winding down a 3rd season with the Visma-Lease a Bike Growth crew, nonetheless in pursuit of an elusive first victory as a U23 rider. The Durango, Colorado native has been within the winner’s circle earlier than, incomes the stars-and-stripes jersey as the lads’s junior highway champion in 2021 and successful a stage that very same yr at Grand Prix Rüebliland in Switzerland.
That difficult-to-catch prime consequence may simply be present in a non-traditional manner, just like the US Gravel Nationwide Championships. Simmons will compete Sunday within the males’s elite subject in Gering, Nebraska, the place he’ll line up towards defending champion Keegan Swenson and 47 different skilled off-road racers.
“I anticipate myself to do nicely, however clearly, it’s a bit completely different than highway racing. It’s thrilling to do one thing a bit completely different for positive,” Simmons advised Cyclingnews this week.
“No, I’ve by no means achieved a gravel race. I’ve a gravel bike I trip an excellent bit, a Cervelo, however I’ve by no means raced. I’m fairly to see the way it will go.”
So when the majority of his 2024 highway season wrapped up with a pause of a number of weeks earlier than the UCI Street World Championships in Zurich, September 21-29, he determined to journey again to Colorado for a do-it-yourself altitude camp and blend in a race, which simply occurs to be gravel.
“The true cause I got here house was only for the altitude as a result of then I will race the Street World Championships, U23, in Zurich on the finish of this month. So simply principally doing an altitude camp right here, and it labored out nicely to get one onerous race in earlier than then,” Simmons shared with Cyclingews. “In order that was the choice to do Gravel Nationals. It is not tremendous far-off from right here. It’s going to be good to get a protracted, onerous race within the legs earlier than Worlds.
“So principally, I had a reasonably large block of no racing. I requested the crew if I might come house to Durango and principally do an altitude camp at house. In order that was an enormous a part of them letting me come again [to Colorado], as a result of I had not a ton of racing [in September].”
At simply 20 years of age, Simmons is in his third season with the Visma-Lease a Bike Growth crew, whereas his older brother Quinn Simmons races for Lidl-Trek. The youthful Simmons has put in 40 days of racing together with his Continental squad in Europe this season, ending second total at Tour Alsace in July. He returned to the US in Might to compete at US Professional Street Nationals, incomes the bronze within the U23 males’s highway race and in addition taking prime 10s within the U23 time trial and elite highway race.
“I wouldn’t say I’ve had a standout yr, it’s been OK, nothing too particular. I used to be going fairly good on the Nationwide Championships within the US. I didn’t win, however I confirmed my health stage by racing aggressively,” Simmons stated, including that he was pleased with his efficiency at Tour Alsace.
The 131.5km course for US gravel nationals would be the similar because the inaugural version final yr, with 90% of the floor a mixture of dust and gravel roads and shut to five,600 ft of elevation achieve. The beginning and end is in Gering, a small city within the far western a part of Nebraska throughout the border from Colorado.
He admitted, “I don’t know,” when requested if he was aware of the course in any respect and had thought a lot about tools selections. He stated he’s watched some YouTube movies from the occasion final yr to assist make the desicions on tyres, specifically, and didn’t hesitate to ask for recommendation, looking for enter from 2023 US champion Keegan.
“I additionally requested Keegan [Swenson] for private recommendation on what he would suggest working. He gave me an thought of what can be good, as a result of I consider the course, at the least final yr, was considerably sandy, however nonetheless fairly quick so you possibly can run considerably of a slick. I’ll trip the course the day earlier than after which resolve what tyre to run and what wheels to run,” he stated about being self-sufficient in his first gravel race.
“You don’t have a crew automobile there, in order that makes an enormous distinction. It’s extra on you, however I’m greater than able to fixing a flat if I must. I imply, my health is certainly good. Yeah, to be there racing on the entrance, if I don’t have any issues, I can do fairly nicely.”
Simmons’ largest focus in September stays the UCI Street World Championships, and he expects to assist fill one in every of 5 spots allotted to Crew USA for the U23 males’s highway race. Will probably be his third journey as a U23 crew member, final yr ending alongside Luke Lamperti in sixteenth.
“I really feel the course in Zurich fits me fairly nicely. And naturally, being right here at altitude and having an excellent race within the legs earlier than then, I might be good there,” Simmons confirmed.
