News: Simon Carr Joins EF Education

22 year old British born rider Simon Carr, a stage winner at the Tour du Beaujolais, has joined EF Education-Nippo for 2021

News: Simon Carr Joins EF Education

22 year old British born rider Simon Carr, a stage winner at the Tour du Beaujolais, has joined EF Education-Nippo for 2021. He is the final signing for the team. The 22-year-old might be one of the younger guys on the team, but his knowledge and dedication to the sport is reminiscent of someone who’s been around much longer. “The team appears to be a really fun environment and somewhere ideally suited for me to develop as an athlete and person,” said Carr.

Carr’s career highlights include a stage win at the Tour du Beaujolais and a 10th overall in the Le Tour de Savoie Mont Blanc. The young talent was riding for the top french amateur team AVC Aix-en-Provence before he joined NIPPO-DELKO One Provence for the second half of 2020. EF Pro Cycling is a perfect fit for Carr as he was born in Hereford, England but has spent most of his life in France.

In his time spent there, he’s not only raced but has also picked up on the language and the French way of living. “I think I will fit in really well with the already multicultural aspect of the team.” says Simon. Here’s Q&A with Simon from his new team:

What’s your favorite race to watch?
To be honest, I don’t watch a lot of cycling races. I do enjoy watching old classics or epic grand tour stages from 20 or 30 years ago though; it’s cool to see the history that cycling has. Otherwise we often get to see the Tour de France passing close by, even if for my most of my life I was more interested in the publicity caravan and free Haribo than the riders. Next year’s stage 14 actually goes through my village 200m from my house, according to my neighbor for the first time since the 60s.

What was your favorite cycling race to ride in?
This might seem strange considering I’ve done a lot bigger races since. However, my favorite race so far was the 2017 Tour de Martinique. It was my first long stage race and we just had a really good time exploring such a cool place thanks to cycling. I won 3 out of 11 stages, which is always nice.

When did you first start cycling?
I first started cycling at a regional school MTB race in 2011 that I did on a fully rigid ex-hire steel bike that was probably older than me. I was practically last in the downhill and trials events, so started at the back for the cross country. However, I discovered I had good climbing legs and went on to finish 3rd. By 2013 I was starting my first full season on the road and I’ve been slowly working my way up ever since.

Favorite post ride snack or meal?
My favorite post ride snack especially in the summer is homemade banana ice cream. It’s super easy to make just by blending up frozen bananas, then adding whatever else you want. For example I use cocoa powder, maple syrup, peanut butter, or even some protein powder to make it into a good recovery option.

Any plans for the next couple of months in the off-season?
To be honest not much other than preparing for the 2021 season and I’m lucky enough to be in an area that’s ideal for training. I’ve got into a really good routine at home though, so I feel like the racing is going to come round really really quickly.