Quinn Simmons recognised for relentless Tour de France shift in Lidl-Trek service

For the second consecutive summer, Simmons received the Best Teammate Award, known officially as the Prix du Meilleur Équipier, after spending three weeks operating as one of the most versatile and dependable riders in the race.

Whether controlling breakaways, protecting general classification leaders Mattias Skjelmose and Juan Ayuso or positioning Mads Pedersen for intermediate sprints and stage finishes, Simmons became Lidl-Trek’s key utility rider.

His work regularly required him to balance several objectives on the same day. At times he was asked to ride at the front of the peloton to protect the team’s overall classification ambitions, before turning his attention towards Pedersen’s pursuit of the green jersey.

Those responsibilities frequently came at the expense of Simmons’ own opportunities.

The 25-year-old arrived at the Tour hoping to claim his first stage victory in the race, but Lidl-Trek made clear from the outset that Pedersen’s points classification campaign would take priority.

“The team has made it obvious that they care more about Mads winning the green jersey than about me winning a stage,” Simmons told LeTour.fr after stage 15.

“At the end of the day, they write my paycheck, so I have to do what I am told.”

Lidl-Trek sports director Steven de Jongh later acknowledged that Simmons’ frustration was understandable, particularly for a rider who had repeatedly shown the strength to compete for stages.

“I understand the frustration, and I think the same applies to Mathias Vacek,” De Jongh told In de Leiderstrui. “But we came here with a clear objective, which is to win the green jersey with Mads. They knew that beforehand, and they also know we need them to help Mads achieve it.”

De Jongh stressed that the riders were entitled to voice their disappointment, as long as they continued to commit to the team’s wider plan.

“They are athletes who want to win, and they still have long careers ahead of them,” he said. “But in the end, we will continue doing what we are doing.”

That approach was ultimately vindicated by one of Lidl-Trek’s most complete Tour de France performances.

Pedersen secured the green jersey in Paris, adding the Tour’s points classification to those he had already won at the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España. The team also claimed one stage victory with Pedersen after a textbook team performance, while Skjelmose finished sixth and Ayuso seventh in the general classification.

With two riders inside the top seven, Lidl-Trek also won the team classification.

Simmons may have left the Tour without the stage victory he had hoped for, coming closest on stage 15 when he was the final rider from the breakaway to be caught on the Plateau de Solaison, but his influence was measured in far more than results. 

His second consecutive Best Teammate Award was therefore a fitting recognition for a rider who repeatedly set aside his own ambitions and became indispensable to Lidl-Trek’s collective success.