Playing against type seems to suit Quinn Simmons. The American's default setting is aggressive, but his Trek-Segafredo directeur sportif, Adriano Buffi, suggested that he add a little patience to his repertoire this week at the Vuelta a San Juan.

This advice paid off in Billicum, where Simmons fended off the sprinters in the finale of the motor racing circuit to win stage 3.

"It's hard to be bored in the pack all day, but I think it pays off," Simmons joked as he sat in the press tent after the awards ceremony.

The Billickham circuit is a highly regarded stomping ground for late attackers, and Simmons was one of several riders aiming to replicate Zdenek Stival's successful robbery here in 2020. World champion Remco Evenpole was one of them, but in the end Soudal-Quickstep opted to sprint for Fabio Jacobsen.

Trek-Segafredo had John Averasturi, who had finished third the day before, but Simmons was the main man on Tuesday afternoon.

"When I woke up, my coach sent me a video of me winning this race," Simmons said.

True to his word, Simmons powered out of the final corner in the last kilometer to extend his margin of victory. Max Richeze (Argentina), in his last race as a pro, chased for an epic epic race on his home road, but had to settle for second place and race leader Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) won the sprint for third place.

After the finish, Simmons reached for his radio and thanked his teammates. He smiled, "If I said exactly what I said, it would get me in trouble on the Internet again." 'No, I said thank you to my team, two riders spent a whole day getting back to the team car and getting bottles all the time. The team kept me safe all day.

Simmons' ambitions for the overall class were quickly frustrated by a crash on the first day. Buffi told Cyclingnews, "I don't mean to criticize anyone, but this just gave him more motivation." Last season's Simmons might have taken the time penalty as an invitation to go on the offensive early, but the 21-year-old carefully laid the groundwork here.

"He seems to be managing himself better than before. That was his weakness, and he had a lot of instinctive races. That's normal for a young rider, but he was great today," Buffi said. 'Cycling is not mathematical, everyone has their own personality and it's hard to change that.'

Simmons entered the WorldTour directly from junior in 2020 and proved his potential in the classics when he punctured from a decisive move at Strade Bianche the following year; a race in Tuscany, where he finished seventh in 2022, is still his goal this season.

"Two years ago he had a flat tire with five riders in front of him and he was just getting to the finish. 'It's his favorite race, so that will be his main goal. Then again, a race like Roubaix might be different and more variable.

Here and now, Simmons will try to finish as high overall as possible despite his earlier time loss. The winner's time bonus moves Simmons up to 51st overall by 24 seconds, but the important thing is stage 5, Alto Colorado. Said Buffy, "He's not a climber, but at this time of year, if he's in good shape, he can do well in Alto Colorado." The name and elevation are certainly auspicious for Coloradoans. I'm climbing home," Simmons joked, but the steady gradient could also be to his advantage.

"As much as I want to suffer, I don't know if it's too hard for me," he said. "It's a very hard climb and at my weight I'll be suffering next to the smaller Colombians and Remco Evenpole [who can fly]. But it's going to be a tough overall battle and I'll give it everything I've got on the last climb."

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