Quinn Simmons isn’t the typical multi-sport high school student athlete. The 16-year-old from Durango is truly one-of-a-kind.
Simmons is the reigning junior national champion in short-track cross country mountain biking. He’s also one of the nation’s top junior ski mountaineering athletes. He travels the country and the world for top competition in the biggest events in his respective sports.
Skiing may run in his family, but Simmons is most passionate about his mountain bike racing.
“The bike racing takes the priority over skiing,” Simmons said. “I use that ski training as a way to build for the bikes. It’s something better to do in the winter. If I can ski for two days a week in the winter and avoid being on my trainer those two days and still end up riding four days a week, it works very well.”
Last year, Simmons claimed first place in the short-track cross country national championships and third in cross country. A year earlier, he placed second in short-track and third in cross country. He rides for Whole Athlete, a Specialized team based out of California. As a 14-year-old, Simmons said he didn’t have the results to pick up a team sponsor as high profile as Whole Athlete, which previously has sponsored riders such as Durango’s rising phenom Christopher Blevins, a 2016 Durango High School graduate.
It was a Durango mountain biking legend, 61-year-old Ned Overend of Specialized, who convinced Whole Athlete to give Simmons a look.
“That was a huge help for me,” Simmons said of Overend’s recommendation. “Because of the team, that’s what has helped me get to where I am. Ned was one of the first people that helped me and really pushed me.”
Scott Simmons, Quinn’s father, was born in Alaska and started skiing when he was 8. He went to Fort Lewis College and had his first official “skimo” race in 1997. He became interested in skimo racing when he did an uphill and downhill race at Silverton Mountain. Scott is a four-time national team member, set the Grand Traverse course record and, two winters ago, was part of a team that completed the first-known winter ski-mountaineering trip across the Hardrock Hundred Endurance Run course in the heart of the San Juan Mountains.
This year, Quinn was old enough to compete in the International Ski Mountaineering Federation World Championships in Italy in the 15-17 age group. Scott took both his sons, Quinn and 13-year-old Colby, to previous world championships, and Quinn was excited to get a chance to compete.
Scott and Quinn both raced, and Quinn put up some impressive results with an 11th-place finish in the individual race, a third-place in the sprint race and a ninth-place result in the vertical race.
“The highlight of the trip for me was watching him compete and watching him do well,” Scott said of his son. “The biggest benefit for him in ski mountaineering is to not burn out training on the bike. He’s young, so he’s probably not going to burn out at 16, but, in years to come, ski mountaineering will help keep his bike riding fresh.”
Quinn said attending the world championships was a privilege. In Europe, spots on the junior national teams are highly competitive. Though the sport hasn’t caught on as big in the U.S., he was honored to share the mountains and compete well against elite athletes.
“The guys there take it super seriously; they aren’t some bike kid who is out there that decided three months before the race, ‘Hey, I wanna go over there,’” he said.
Quinn’s mother, Holly, also is an athlete. She has completed the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic several times and has also done a few mountain bike races. This year, the Simmons family will be spectators as Quinn looks to improve on last year’s 11th-place finish in the IHBC road race from Durango to Silverton.
“Last year, I didn’t have the greatest race,” Quinn said. “But I talked to my coach this year and have been able to do a lot more climbing work to get ready for that and the Missoula XC mountain bike race, which is a super heavy climbing course. Those two combined helped me to do a lot more climbing work to get ready, so I’m hoping it goes a little better. I’m hoping for a top-10 and maybe slip a little lower than that.”
Quinn takes one French class at Durango High School and takes the rest of his courses through Southwest Colorado eSchool. He said it is tough to keep up with his studies when he is on the road, so he tries to get two weeks ahead before he leaves for big trips. He gets out of French at 10 a.m., trains the rest of the day and studies at night. He also works for his father to help fund his numerous trips.
This year, his big goal is to win the junior cross country mountain bike national championship and defend his short-track gold at Snowshoe Mountain, West Virginia. Next year, he will be eligible to compete in Junior World Cup events in Europe.
“I’m using this year to really build and get ready for next year’s world cups,” he said. “I’m doing a little bit more on the road bike and working to phase into that more, but for me, it’s all about mountain bike nationals and working for next year’s world cups.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
Behind the Scenes
Do you have a nickname?: Quincy
Who is your favorite athlete?: Peter Sagan
What is your favorite restaurant?: Carver Brewing Co.
Do you have a favorite mountain bike trail in Durango?: More and more I’ve started riding the Ridge a lot. That’s where I’ve done a lot of my skills work, being up there and trying to ride something real technical. You always can work on something up there and can never be too good for that.
Where is your favorite place to backcountry ski?: Skiing right off the top of Coal Bank. We skied a lot of really good powder up there last year. Skin up toward Engineer Mountain and ski down.
Do you have any phobias?: Nothing like crazy; I don’t like snakes.
Is there a teacher who has had a big impact on your life?: My fifth-grade teacher at Park Elementary Mr. Tom Curmano. I think he was the only teacher I could really talk to. He likes skiing and I still see him at Purgatory sometimes. That was my funnest year of school ever.
What would be your dream vacation?: I want to go heli-skiing in Alaska
Do you have a dream car?: I want a sprinter van. I’m not into the whole car thing as much, but that would count, right?
If you could have any superpower, what would you pick?: I’d like to be able to control the weather. I could make it snow great powder up in the mountains but have it be nice and sunny in town so I could do a base ride and be warm but then go ski powder.
