Durangoan Colby Simmons finished second in the men’s U23 road race on Friday at the USA Cycling Amateur Road National Championships in Roanoke, Virgina.

The course for the championship was 173 kilometers long at Waid Park and had 77 bikers competing for the stars and stripes jersey.

Simmons (Jumbo-Visma Dev) had an impressive battle with Owen Cole of North Carolina (Velocious Sport) that left spectators in awe. As the two riders approached the finish line after a sprint with a small group, Simmons tucked and extended his bike to try and beat Cole to the finish line. The finish was so close that officials had to review the LiveLynx finish photo to determine who the national title would go to. After a thorough examination, Cole was declared the winner, crossing the finish line maybe an inch before Simmons. Cole’s winning time was 4 hours, 20 minutes and 38 seconds. Tobias Klen (Aevelo) finished third, one second after Simmons and Cole.

“A race you don’t want to be second at,” Simmons said on social media.

Simmons didn’t race in the event’s criterium or the time trial.

Simmons, however, will get another chance to win a stars and stripes jersey this week. Simmons is scheduled to race for the U.S. Pro road title on Sunday in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Simmons also extended his commitment to the Jumbo-Visma Development Team on Thursday for another year.

“We recognize his potential,” said Jumbo-Visma’s head of development Robbert De Groot. “He has a good training and race mentality and a positive personality. But he also needs another year with the U23s. We will make the most of that year with him.”

Simmons is 19 years old.

“I feel like I developed well within the team last year,” Simmons said. “I feel good on the team, which shows in the races. I still have room to grow tactically, and I believe the team can help me. So it was not a difficult decision for me to stay an extra year when this opportunity came up.”