Quinn Simmons and Will Barta bring key boost to US presence at 2025 Tour de France

The US participation at the upcoming Tour de France has received a significant boost as Lidl-Trek confirmed their start list, including American national champion Quinn Simmons, while Spanish World Tour team Movistar’s nine riders for the Tour, also announced Monday, had Will Barta in their number.

Simmons’ inclusion comes after a solid run of early summer success for the rider from Durango, Colorado, including a second national title, and an impressive solo stage win at the Tour de Suisse.

This will be the 24-year-old Simmons’ third Tour participation, and his first since he was a DNS on stage 9 of the 2023 race following a bad crash on stage 5. According to a team press release, his main role will be as a team worker in the opening parts of flat and transition stages, keeping breakaways under control to try and ensure a bunch sprint for Italian fast man Jonathan Milan.

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Lidl-Trek said in the same release that their team had multiple goals for the Tour, with Mattias Skjelmose going for GC, while Milan is making his debut in France.

“The first stage in particular is super important for him,” said sports director Steven de Jongh.

“There is the opportunity to win the first yellow jersey of the race and Jonny will have his lead-out train with him: Jasper Stuyven, Edward Theuns and Simone Consonni.

“Quinn Simmons, who is coming into the race off the back of a really great stage win at Tour de Suisse, will be the team’s dedicated puller. So he has to ride a lot of kilometres in front to make it possible to have a sprint while Toms Skujins will do the final positioning and he will also take care of Mattias.

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“Then, finally we have Thibau Nys making a big step up by racing the Tour de France as his first-ever Grand Tour and there are definitely stages along the way that can suit him.”

Three standout figures missing from the Lidl-Trek roster are Tao Geoghegan Hart, who is ill, Julien Bernard, who raced well in the French Nationals and the recent Andorra Classic and Juanpe López, fourth in the Spanish Nationals on Sunday.

Will Barta, meanwhile, having raced the Vuelta a España twice and the Giro d’Italia three times, will make his debut in the Tour de France at 29 for Movistar. Like Simmons, Barta rode well in the Tour de Suisse, finishing twelfth overall, and at the Tour, he’ll be combining his team duties for leader Enric Mas with potential stage-hunting opportunities.

Movistar will also include three other debutants: Pablo Castrillo, Colombian GC hopeful Einer Rubio and the new Spanish National Road Champion, 21-year-old Iván Romeo. Allrounder Gregor Mühlberger and time triallist Nelson Oliveira, as well as Classics specialist Iván García Cortina, complete the Spanish squad for the 2025 Tour.

Lidl-Trek for the 2025 Tour de France

• Simone Consonni (Ita)
• Jonathan Milan (Ita)
• Thibau Nys (Bel)
• Quinn Simmons (USA)
• Mattias Skjelmose (Den)
• Tom Skujins (Lat)
• Jasper Stuyven (Bel)
• Edward Theuns (Bel)

Movistar for the Tour de France

• Will Barta (USA)
• Pablo Castrillo (Spa)
• Ivan García Cortina (Spa)
• Enric Mas (Spa)
• Gregor Muhlberger (Ger)
• Nelson Oliveira (Por)
• Iván Romeo (Spa)
• Einer Rubio (Col)

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