Evenepoel had just so much of a buffer, so expecting Simmons and Brenner to close the gap with the pro peloton at the same age, was dumb.
^^This is what I was getting at. What does Simmons get out of killing himself at age 20 just to rack up a bunch of top 20s and a few small wins? Sure, it's more exciting to race on the WT than the U23s, but maybe he'd have done better to beat up on the U23s, stretch himself a bit in shorter races that might not suit him, learn more racecraft etc.
Remco is a unique rider who brings a skill set that is already lethal in some races -- whereas there are a bunch of strong classics riders, even a fair number who can also climb a bit, so while QS has undeniable talent at a young age, he's not bringing anything new to the table that the peloton hasn't seen before.
In fact if you had to project the best Quinn Simmons he can be, you might point to a Colbrelli 2021 -- a sturdy classics rider, not too heavy so they can get over hills, with a good kick.