Rebecca Reza

May 3, 2025

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Lauren Stephens took yet another win this season in the opening stage at the 2025 Tour de Bloom for Aegis Cycling Foundation. It was a field sprint where Stephens slide from behind her rivals to steal the victory from the hands of second place Alia Shafi (Fount Cycling Guild), and Marlies Mejias in third place for Virgina’s Blue Ridge presented by Twenty28.

The UCI Women were met with beautiful clear skies as they got into position for the stage 1 Still Properties Waterville Road Race. Fount Cycling Guild and Valkyr Cycling Team led the field as they rolled out of the start, officially beginning this year’s Tour de Bloom.

The 60-mile course was set around a 29-mile circuit in the wheat country of Waterville, Washington. The field stayed together for the first stretch of the course, spreading out across both lanes of the straight road. Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty28, competing for the first time since the Pan American Track Cycling Championships in early April, as well as Fount Cycling Guild, were both visible at the front of the field, setting for the first Queen of the Mountain. The competition stayed tight, Fount Cycling’s Jennifer Wheeler–master’s national road and crit champion, former stage winner, and former Tour de Bloom victor–ultimately managing to take the first QOM. 

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Fount Cycling Guild and TaG Cycling led the front as the field regrouped, setting a comfortable pace as the riders approached the next part of the course, a winding descent that showed off the smooth roads and rolling hills among the wheat fields of Waterville. Once the riders rounded the curve that marked the end of the Country Loop and the beginning of the Town Loop, there was movement in the field as teams started shuffling to get into position for the downtown approach. 

 

The end of the first lap marked not only the first intermediate sprint but also the double time bonus for the stage. Because this stage only offered one Intermediate Sprint for the pro women, with first place Intermediate Sprint winner subtracting six seconds from their time rather than three, second place earning a four second bonus instead of two, and third place receiving two seconds instead of one. As the peloton passed briefly through the downtown area and then looped back again for the final approach to the Sprint/QOM line, the energy in the field was palpable, with SpeedBlock p/b Terun Mixed Team making an effort to move closer to the front only 9 km from the end of the lap. 

 

Fount Cycling fought to hold their place at the front of the peloton as they approached the lap finish, Aegis, Automatic Racing, and Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty28 getting into position from behind while Pato Bike BMC advanced up the left of the field. The field stayed tight as they crossed the IntSprint line; Twenty28’s Marlies Mejias Garcia won the six-second first place bonus, with Automatic Racing’s Arielle Martin-Verhaaren taking the four-second bonus and Lucie Kimberly (S&M CX Mixed Team) earning two seconds. 

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The next QOM approached as the second lap got underway. Jennifer Wheeler took Queen of the Mountain just as she had during the prior lap, confirming her lead in the classification, with Lauren Stephens following closely after. As the field descended, Fount Cycling Guild’s Minori Minagawa and United Cycling p.b. Cadence Cyclery’s Florence Howden managed to break away and maintain a small lead before being reabsorbed as the course hit the flats. 

 

A headwind began to pick up as the peloton reached the last 10 km stretch to the final sprint and finish line, adding an extra element to the final battle. Fount, Twenty28, and Automatic Racing showed strong teamwork and communication as they skillfully began to fight for position. It would be the 2x Tour of the Gila Champion, Lauren Stephens who would come from behind to celebrate the first win of the 25th edition of the Tour de Bloom. The victory also placed her in the lead of the points classification. Vanessa Montrichard leads the Best Young Rider classification for TaG Cycling. 

 

Stage 2 moves downtown for the Wenatchee Twilight Crit presented by Rookard Custom Pools. The pro women start at 7:50 PM.