Grace Arlandson (Aegis x Leaders of Enchantment) and Nathan Martin (SpeedBlock p/b Terun) won the overall titles at Tour de Bloom. The six-day stage race came to a conclusion on Tuesday in Wenatchee, Washington.
The women's race was a battle between Aegis x LOE and Virginia's Blue Ridge-TWENTY28. Last year's overall champion, Lauren Stephens (Aegis x LOE) opted not to race in order to train nearby for the Unbound Gravel 200 on May 30.
"It was a tough decision to prioritise training over racing, but I am so proud of how much each rider has stepped up this week.
"The team was amazing this week! Seeing their performance definitely kept me motivated during my high-volume training for Unbound," the Aegis x LOE founder Stephens told Cyclingnews after the race.
Emily Gilbert and Anna Hicks opened proceedings, going one-two for VBR-TWENTY28 in the 16.6km uphill time trial to Mission Ridge Ski & Board Resort, with a trio of Aegis riders - Kylee Hanel, Arlandson, Jamie Chapman - behind them in sports three to five.
On day two, Virginia's Blue Ridge-TWENTY28 dominated the 121.km Waterville Road Race with four riders finishing together, Marlies Mejías leading the charge for the stage victory, and Arlandson leading the chase group behind. This set the stage for the GC battle for the two teams, Arlandson taking a 13-second lead over Mejias, and then Chapman third with the same time.
Stage 3's downtown criterium was a carbon copy of the top 3 for a second day, Mejías winning alongside teammates Olivia Cummins and Ella Sabo, and the Cuban sprinter overtaking Arlandson by two seconds for the GC lead.
Virginia's Blue Ridge-TWENTY28 remained in control on stage 4 with Emily Ehrlich, Mejías and Cummins filling the podium, but Arlandson was on the same time on the 118km road race in fourth. Bonus seconds gave Mejías more time, and she led Arlandson by 8 seconds, Chapman by 22 seconds.
Ehrlich, the reigning USPro elite women's time trial champion, cruised to the victory on stage 5's 24.6km time trial into Mansfield and disrupted the GC. Mejias went second in the time trial, 30 seconds behind her teammate, and the two were in the top two spots, Mejías still in the lead. A trio of Aegis riders filled positions four to six in the ITT, moving Arlandson and Chapman into a tie for third overall at 1:07 back.
On the final day of racing, the tide turned in favour of Aegis as Arlandson led the way with a solo victory on the 'queen stage', 83.1km with 1,944 metres of elevation gain. Her teammates Chapman and Hanel completed the podium, with Chapman moving to third overall. VBR-TWENTY28 duo Hicks and Mejías lost touch on the final ascent, finishing together at 1:36 back, which bumped Mejías to second on GC, 39 seconds back.
The men's competition had riders from several teams punching and counter-punching for stage success. Cameron Hampton (Kelly Benefits) scored the win on the stage 1 time trial and took the first leader's jersey. Martin, who had two previous top 10s in the GC at Tour de Bloom, including fourth overall last year, finished just four seconds off the pace to slot into second on GC.
Hampton held the GC lead for the first four stages, then handed over the pink leader's jersey to Martin after stage 5, the Canadian winning the 40.2km race against the clock by a thundering 58-second advantage over Kent Ross (Cascadia/Expeditors).
While Ross won the sixth and final stage in a three-rider sprint, it was the race leader and his Speedblock teammate, Logan Unger, just off his wheel. Martin won the overall by 1:03 over Ross and another 30 seconds to Hampton. Unger took fourth overall and Quinn Felton (Project Echelon Racing) was fifth.
For full results, visit the Tour de Bloom website.
