Colby Simmons, 18, of Durango competed Wednesday in his first race since signing with the Jumbo-Visma Development Team.

Simmons began his year by competing in the Tofej Umag, a one-day, 95.69-mile race in Croatia that began and ended in Umaj. The elite men’s race is part of the Europe Tour 2022.

Daniel Auer of WSA KT Graz p/b Leomo pulled away at the end to win the race in 3 hours, 27 minutes and 12 seconds. Simmons finished in the peleton, which started crossing just one second after Auer, to place 18th. The race had 170 competitors, but 31 did not finish.

Simmons was the first American and Jumbo-Visma cyclist to finish the race. Simmons also scored a sprint specialty point, which is computed by a special point scale for flat or semi-flat stages.

Simmons will race Sunday in Croatia in the Trofej Poreč, a 96.9-mile, one-day race.