Although Colby Simmons was born and raised in Durango, he doesn’t spend much time in his hometown as he’s constantly on the move throughout the world as he continues his promising cycling career.
Simmons is down in Tuscon, Arizona training with his older brother Quinn, who rides for Lidl-Trek’s World Team.
The brothers both compete in Europe throughout the year but don’t get to see each other much because of contrasting schedules. So Quinn and Colby do some training together in Tuscon before heading over to Europe to start the cycling season.
“This time of year, you're mostly just focusing on like longer rides, just getting the miles in and hours.” Simmons said. “Then starting now, I'll start some more intensity, just kind of getting the legs back into it. Then we do a group ride every Saturday down here, which is awesome. In Durango right now, you can't really train that many hours. Here in Arizona, it’s good for the training for sure.”
One of the events Simmons is looking forward to is U.S. Nationals and the chance to put on the national championship jersey. Simmons will be able to ride with his brother at the U.S. Nationals. He also has his sights on the U-23 Paris-Roubaix race, where he finished ninth last season.
The Tour de Bretange is another race Simmons is keyed in on because it suits his riding style. He finished fifth in the youth classification and sixth in the general classification last season.
“With my body type, I'm not the heaviest rider, I'm not the lightest rider, I'm kind of right there in the middle,” Simmons said. “Then I would prefer the races I'm doing good at is something like Roubaix, or something called like the Flemish classic, where it’s the kind of the more short, punchy climb around like to the two to five minutes. Then I think that's where I really excel just because, like my body weight, it's hard to make it over the long climbs. But when it's short and punchy, I find that I really excel. So anything in Ardennes, or just Belgium in general, is what suits me well.”
Simmons is in his fifth full season in Europe and his third season with the Jumbo-Visma Development Team. He loves the opportunity to compete and train with the World Tour team.
Simmons said more than half of his calendar is with the World Tour team. Jumbo-Visma is the best team in the world for its resources available to its riders.
“They touch on every detail, starting with the equipment that you're on is as good as it gets,” Simmons said. “The clothing that you wear is like they measured it all out for you. So it's as narrow as possible. Then nutrition, if you need help with the how much you need to be eating on the bike, or even off the bike you can get help on that. Then the way that you go into the racing, like the details that are pointed out before race. It's just every little detail to be the best you need to look at.”
Although other riders may struggle to maintain a good race weight, Simmons said it isn’t too difficult for him as he stays around the same weight year-round.
Simmons is based in Sittard, Netherlands during the season but knows he is a source of inspiration for young cyclists growing up in Durango.
“I hope I inspire some younger kids out there to just know you don't have to be European to race your bike fast,” Simmons said. “It's also possible for them to do it.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
