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Trek-Segafredo is pleased to announce they have signed two-year contracts with Junior Road World Champion Quinn Simmons for 2020 and Junior Time Trial World Champion Antonio Tiberi beginning in 2021.
Quinn Simmons, 18, put on an impressive display of strength in the Junior men’s road race Thursday, soloing for over 30 kilometers to claim the world title. The USA Junior National Road Race and Time Trial champion moves into the elite ranks in 2020 and will join Trek-Segafredo in Europe, opting to bypass further development in U23 for an immediate jump to the WorldTour level. Simmons also rode the Junior men’s Time Trial and just missed out claiming a medal, finishing in fourth place.
Quinn Simmons: “I’m super excited to be making the step to the WorldTour with Trek Segafredo. Their proven ability to develop young riders and a history of success in the Classics makes this the best place for me to continue my development. Over the next two years, I hope to learn as much as possible and make big steps towards the goal of one day winning Paris-Roubaix.”
Simmons first showed his latent potential by winning Gent Wevelgem Juniors in March. He will move to Belgium, where Trek-Segafredo will support him and give him the best opportunity to further grow and develop his skills on the roads that host the Classics.
Italian Antonio Tiberi, 18, won the World Championships Junior Time Trial title Monday and finished in 13th place in the road race Thursday. Tiberi is a strong climber and paired with his exceptional time trial ability is a rider suited to riding for the general classification. Tiberi and Trek-Segafredo decided that one more year of development in the U23 ranks will benefit the young Italian, who will ride with Italian Continental Team Colpack in 2020 before joining Trek-Segafredo in 2021.
Antonio Tiberi: "For me this is a dream to join Trek-Segafredo in 2021. I am very happy because it's one of the best teams in the world with a lot of young talents like Quinn Simmons. I chose Trek-Segafredo because it is very professional but it is also like a family. My goals in the future are to do some big Tours where I can learn from (Vincenzo) Nibali and the other big riders."
Luca Guercilena, Trek-Segafredo General Manager: “We have been on the lookout for young talents that we could develop within our ranks at the top level of cycling. This has been our philosophy since a few years already, and we have been keeping an eye on both Simmons and Tiberi well before the World Championships. In Yorkshire, we just witnessed confirmation of both their talents.
“Quinn definitely drew our attention by winning Gent-Wevelgem and then both his National TT and RR titles earlier this year. Obviously, he has shown his huge potential again by winning the World Championships. Given his young age, we want to let him mature slowly and not rush things or put too much stress on his shoulders, but we feel he can handle the one-day races at the top level. We are convinced that having him in Belgium where he can be closely guided by our performance team and sport directors will be very fruitful for his development and that in a few years from now he will confirm the talent he is showing right now.
“Antonio is a GC rider. We want to offer him at least one year at the U23 level to give him chances as a GC leader before he comes to the WorldTour. With these two signings, we show we are focused on the future of these riders and the future of our team.”
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