'I thought I was feeling pretty good, but then it turns out they hadn't started going hard yet' – Colby Simmons on his longest-ever ride at the Tour of Flanders

PALMA DE MALLORCA SPAIN FEBRUARY 02 Colby Simmons of The United States and Team EF Education EasyPost competes during the 34th Challenge Ciclista Mallorca 2025 22nd Trofeo Playa de Palma Palma a 1499km one day race from Palma to Palma on February 02 2025 in Palma de Mallorca Spain Photo by Tim de WaeleGetty Images
Colby Simmons racing for EF Education-EasyPost in Spain earlier in 2025 (Image credit: Getty Images)

It's easy to get lost watching the favourites at the Tour of Flanders. So many giants of the sport turn up and are, little by little, sloughed off the front group in an attritional meat grinder of a race.

Sunday's headlines will be grabbed by Tadej Pogačar, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, and the Lidl-Trek double act of Mads Petersen and Jasper Stuyven, but spare a thought though, once you've digested the results at the top of the billing, for Colby Simmons, for whom the 269km Monument wasn't just his longest-ever race, but his longest-ever ride full stop. Following the conclusion, Simmons told Velo and Cyclingnews of his big day out. 

Will Jones
Senior Tech Writer

Will joined the Cyclingnews team as a reviews writer in 2022, having previously written for Cyclist, BikeRadar and Advntr. He’s tried his hand at most cycling disciplines, from the standard mix of road, gravel, and mountain bike, to the more unusual like bike polo and tracklocross. He’s made his own bike frames, covered tech news from the biggest races on the planet, and published countless premium galleries thanks to his excellent photographic eye. Also, given he doesn’t ever ride indoors he’s become a real expert on foul-weather riding gear. His collection of bikes is a real smorgasbord, with everything from vintage-style steel tourers through to superlight flat bar hill climb machines.

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