Lidl-Trek's Simmons, 23, was part of an early group which split from the peloton within the first 30km before going on to finish 18 seconds ahead of Portuguese rider Joao Almeida, with Scot Oscar Onley in third.

The American national champion attacked alongside Nans Peters, Samuele Battistella, Max Walker, Emiel Verstrynge, and Brent Van Moer. Despite never gaining more than three minutes, Simmons proved unstoppable on the final climbs.

Simmons was chasing behind Maeder when the Swiss rider suffered a fatal crash during the 2023 edition of the race, and he considered retiring after the tragic incident. As Simmons crossed the line, the US national champion raised his finger to the sky in reference to Maeder.

"The motivation was super high today," Simmons said. "I really wanted to win yesterday, on the two-year anniversary of us losing Gino and I really wanted to dedicate that win to him. "I did it a day late, but it was really hard for me to be here gain, especially seeing his mom at the start. "But now I can pay a bit of tribute, and for sure I had a bit of extra motivation today, and frustration."

Geraint Thomas Crashes As GC Battle Erupts

The stage rolled out calmly from Aarau, but chaos struck with 60 kilometers to go when former Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas crashed hard. His Ineos Grenadiers teammates rallied to limit losses, but Thomas finished far behind the main contenders.

Meanwhile, Groupama-FDJ controlled the peloton for yellow jersey Romain Grégoire until the Büriswilen climb, where attacks finally flew. Marc Hirschi, Jan Christen, Juan Pedro Lopez, and Aleksandr Vlasov all tried to bridge to Simmons—but failed.

Neilson Powless Chases

Neilson Powless made a valiant late move from the bunch but couldn’t close the gap. Simmons crested the final 3.4 km climb solo and powered to the finish for his third win of the season.

Behind, Joao Almeida claimed second in the sprint, and Oscar Onley took third. For Simmons, it was a statement ride: fearless, relentless, and brilliantly executed.

Frenchman Romain Gregoire remains in the overall lead having finished fourth on the day after 195.6km between Aarau and Heiden.

Spluegen Pass Awaits In Stage Four

Wednesday's fourth of eight stages is a 193.2km ride from Heiden to Piuro in Italy, which includes a climb up the Spluegen Pass at 2,114m altitude.