Marlies Mejias Garcia (Virginia's Blue Ridge TWENTY28) and Juan Arango (Bikes Cycling Team) scored the elite victories at the Winston-Salem Cycling Classic on May 24.
The North Carolina criterium marked the ninth and final competition across seven weeks for USA CRITS. Aylena Quevedo (Kingdom Elite Racing) and Lucas Bourgoyne (Team Cadence Cyclery p/b Encore Wire) won the individual titles in the series of one-day races.
Bourgoyne and Luke Fetzer of the new setup Team Cadence Cyclery p/b Encore Wire earned the top two spots for elite men in the series, finishing in the top 10 in Winston-Salem. Both raced one day before the USA CRITS finale, 350 miles away in West Virginia at the USA Cycling Pro Road Championships, Bourgoyne winning the elite criterium national title and Fetzer winning the U23 criterium title.
Bourgoyne led wire-to-wire for the USA CRITS overall, starting with the victory at the opening round at the Sunny King Criterium in Anniston, Alabama. It was a tight finish for the final spots on the podium, as Fetzer edged Jamie Castaneda(Bikers Cycling Team) by just nine points for second overall.
“It all came together...this is what we do all year long. We came here to show everyone we are the best criterium team in the country, and we did exactly that,” Bourgoyne said after the conclusion of a one-day race in North Carolina.
Quevedo and Shannon Koch captured first and third, respectively, in the women's overall, with Elizabeth Harden (Team Flicker) taking second place.
It was a tight battle all spring across the nine women's races, Quevedo earning top 10s in eight of the nine races, including a victory in Hapeville, and winning the overall by just 28 points over Harden. The separation between second and third places was just 11 points.
Results - Winston-Salem Cycling Classic
| Pos. | Name (Team) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Marlies Mejias Garcia (Virginia's Blue Ridge TWENTY28) |
| 2 | Laurel Rathburn (L39ION of Los Angeles) |
| 3 | Erica Carney (Piedmont University) |
| 4 | Shannon Koch (Kingdom Elite Racing) |
| 5 | Elizabeth Hardin (Team Flicker) |
| Pos. | Name (Team) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Juan Arango (Bikers Cycling Team) |
| 2 | Robin Carpenter (L39ION of Los Angeles) |
| 3 | Jordan Parra (Bikers Cycling Team) |
| 4 | Danny Summerhill (L39ION of Los Angeles) |
| 5 | Brody McDonald (Golden State Blazers) |
Final standings - USA CRITS
| Rank | Name (Team) | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aylena Quevedo (Kingdom Elite Racing) | 2026 |
| 2 | Elizabeth Harden (Team Flicker) | 1998 |
| 3 | Shannon Koch (Kingdom Elite Racing) | 1987 |
| 4 | Ali LeCraw (Team Flicker) | 1757 |
| 5 | Luisa Parra (Bikers Cycling Team) | 1684 |
| 6 | Jeydy Praderas (Kingdom Elite Racing) | 1630 |
| 7 | Justine Thomas (Kingdom Elite Racing) | 1548 |
| 8 | Stephanie Clark (MACC Racing) | 1428 |
| 9 | Peta Mullens (Liv SRAM Tango Racing) | 1378 |
| 10 | Erica Carney (Piedmont University) | 1239 |
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kingdom Elite Racing | 7521 |
| 2 | Team Flicker | 5962 |
| 3 | L39ION of Los Angeles | 2819 |
| Rank | Name (Team) | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucas Bourgoyne (Team Cadence Cyclery p/b Encore Wire) | 1831 |
| 2 | Luke Fetzer (Team Cadence Cyclery p/b Encore Wire) | 1729 |
| 3 | Jamie Castaneda (Bikers Cycling Team) | 1720 |
| 4 | Clever Martinez (CRCA/Foundation) | 1423 |
| 5 | Cesar Serna (Team Cadence Cyclery p/b Encore Wire) | 1338 |
| 6 | Jordan Parra (Bikers Cycling Team) | 1299 |
| 7 | Michael Garrison (North Georgia Cycling Association, Inc) | 1256 |
| 8 | Marcos Mendez (CRCA/Foundation) | 1145 |
| 9 | Weimar Roldan (Bikers Cycling Team) | 1127 |
| 10 | Danny Summerhill (L39ION of Los Angeles) | 1101 |
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team Cadence Cyclery p/b Encore Wire | 5975 |
| 2 | Bikers Cycling Team | 5553 |
| 3 | CRCA/Foundation | 5263 |
