Simon Carr is back in France. After four years at EF Education-EasyPost and while he could have extended the adventure with the American WorldTeam, the Briton, who grew up and trained in France, signed up with Cofidis. A team where he intends to have more of a leadership role and, finally, participate in his first Tour de France. On the occasion of the Cofidis pre-season course in Ondara, between Calpe and Gandia (Valencia community), the 26-year-old climber explained his choice to DirectVelo.
DirectVelo: Here you are back in French training in 2025!
Simon Carr: It was a desire to have a leadership role more often but also to have a significant chance of being present in the Tour de France. This is what mainly interested me in this project. Cédric (Vasseur) presented me with great things for the future, the team will become international, especially in terms of the staff. I have the feeling that the team is going in the right direction. There's some good material too, that's good.
Could you have stayed at EF Education-EasyPost?
They were happy with me. The situation suited them, they liked the fact that I had this role of a rider who performs in lower level races, that I win stages, that I score UCI points… It was comfortable for me too. It was a superb team, with a very good atmosphere. I have nothing to say about that. I left on good terms.
“WANT TO MAKE MY OWN IDEA”
But do you have the feeling that they didn't trust you enough in the WorldTour events?
I started very strong with them the first year (in 2021, Editor’s note) but then I was very bothered the following year with illnesses and falls. From then on, I no longer had the confidence of the team to go to the biggest races. I got back into the smaller races, winning four times in 2023. So I hoped to go to the Tour de France in 2024, given what I had done the previous year. Plus, I was the only Frenchman on the team. But at EF, I was never able to do the Tour, so I left.
Cofidis is coming out of a very difficult season, a lot of criticism has been heard. Did you read what was said and if so, did this situation affect you? made you hesitate when leaving EF?
I still hesitated a lot, especially because I was in a comfortable situation at EF, I was very comfortable in the team. When I knew that I was still not going to do the Tour, I told myself that I had to change. Initially, I planned to stay there, I just had to sign my contract extension. For Cofidis, I spoke with other runners. I know it didn't go very well for the team in 2024 but I want to make up my own mind by trying something different, having confidence in my abilities to achieve better results than up until now. now. For me, it's a great option, I'm happy to be there.
“I THINK I CAN BE VERY REGULAR”
So you feel capable of being a leader!
Yes, I think I have the ability. I also have the opportunity to be a very good team member in the mountains in another team. But I'm 26 now and it's time to test myself in the big races. This year, the team's goal will be to stay in the WorldTour. There will therefore be the issue of UCI points. Personally, I plan to score points by winning races, at the same level as I already did with EF, but not only that. This will be the goal from the first races of the season in Spain (GP Castellon, Clasica Valenciana, two sleeves of the Challenge of Mallorca before going on the Etoile of Bessèges, NDLR)but also in France with the Ventoux if it happens, the Route d'Occitanie, the Mercan'Tour Classic, the Tour du Doubs, the Tour du Jura… I hope to win in these races. But at the same time, I also plan to perform at WorldTour level at the Strade Bianche, the Tour de Catalunya, the Tour de Romandie… These are races in which I want to compete for the general classification, to test myself. At the Tour de France, I want to aim for a stage victory.
Above all, we imagine you as a runner capable of great performances on a beautiful stage of a stage race, or in one-day races. Do you think you will be able to have the consistency to achieve a big general classification in WorldTour events?
I am capable of being regular, all the same. In 2023, I won a stage of the Tour des Alpes in April, then a stage of the Route d'Occitanie in June, and again in Malaysia at the very end of the season, over three different periods. Now, over the entirety of a race, I often had difficulty due to allergies. This is what penalized me at the Tour des Alpes last year for example. I was terrible the first day even though I had great legs. Once it started raining it was much better (exposure to pollen, in particular, is much less strong and present when it rains and/or the climate is humid, unlike in dry weather, Editor's note). I'm trying to work on that aspect. If I am in full possession of my abilities over a whole week of racing, I think I can be very consistent. And then, often until now, I was there to help a leader and I had my chance on a specific stage.
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