Race Report: 2024 Tour de Bloom - Women’s P123
Race: 2024 Tour de Bloom - Women’s P123
Date: May 2-5, 2024
AVRT racers: Louise Thomas
Result: 26/40 for GC
Tour de Bloom is a four-day event featuring five distinct stages. The race kicked off with a hilly road race, followed by a flattish (but windy) road race on the second day. Day three had both a morning time trial and an evening criterium, and wrapping up the final stage was another mostly flat road race that culminated in a tough hill finish.
Initially, we planned to send a full women’s squad, but due to various circumstances, I was the sole representative. This was my P123 stage race debut and my first time going against pro teams, so my primary goal was simply to survive. It was great to have Jen Tave from Terun also join, making it a fun mini Nor Cal squad.
Stage 1: Joe Miller Road Race
Course: The course was in two parts, the first being four laps of the “Golf Course Loop”, which was 8.4 miles with ~450 ft of elevation on each lap. The second and distinguishing part of the race was Joe Miller Rd, a 5-mile climb at 5.7% which we did a couple of times before finishing at the top of the climb the second time around. In total, the course was 45 miles with 4,600 ft of elevation.
Result: 22/40
Recap: Before the race, I was genuinely worried that I wouldn’t even make the time cutoff to finish the stage since this was the first time I’d ever been in a race with pro teams. My main goal was to maintain my position in the middle of the pack and expend as little energy as possible to stay in the race for as long as possible.
The event began with a neutral roll-out. The race official informed us that once the support vehicles were in place behind us, the race would start with three honks from a van. That never happened, but at some point, I realized we were halfway through the Golf Course Loop and assumed the race had started.
The peloton mostly stayed together on the Golf Course Loop, which featured a few rolling hills that weren't tackled too aggressively. The first big attack was actually on a downhill, which was a bit unexpected but maybe not a bad strategy because it was followed by a sharp turn that the pack had to slow down for, followed by a straightaway with sprint points. The sprint was intense; I was just trying to hold onto wheels but even that was a struggle. Luckily the pace slowed as soon as the sprint was over and no one counter-attacked, so the group came back together again and I was able to find a place in the pack again. The next laps of the Golf Course Loop were much the same: up and down the rolling hills, trying to hold on for dear life during the sprint, then recovering as the group bunched up.
Next came Joe Miller Road, a 5-mile climb at a 5.7% gradient. Almost immediately, someone attacked and I was flung off the back. The follow cars passed me and I questioned what the hell I was even doing in the race. However, I kept pushing and gradually gained positions, first overtaking some solo stragglers and then a group of five or six riders. I never caught the main peloton, but passing others on the climb boosted my confidence. It seemed like my 20-minute power was holding up, even if I couldn’t match the initial attack.
I teamed up with some new friends to work with for the descent and straightway before climbing Joe Miller the second time. At least most of them were friendly. There was once woman who told me to “do some work or get the fuck off my wheel” while we were going uphill and I was struggling to keep her pace after we’d dropped the others in our small group. She ended up dropping me too, unfortunately.
I then solo’d up the rest of the climb, almost catching that woman at the top, coming in at a respectable 22/40. Jen secured an impressive 3rd place, which was an awesome result.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11319348586
Nutrition: a couple of bottles of malto and a couple of bags of gummy bears during the race
Stage 2: Waterville Road Race
Course: 56 miles of rolling hills with ~3,300 ft elevation, but honestly the main feature of the course was the wind.
Result: 27/39
Recap: With winds of 15-20 mph, the name of the game for this race was hiding in the pack. Initially, I was successful, maintaining a good position for the first 7 or 8 miles. Then, in a new experience for me, the moto pulled us all to the side of the road to wait for the masters men to pass. Usually, fields get neutralized during such passes, but this was the first time I had to come to a complete stop. I’m guessing they did it because they didn't want the fields passing on an upcoming corner - it wasn’t ideal, but I felt like it was a better decision compared to Valley of the Sun where they didn’t neutralize anyone in a dangerous spot, resulting in most of the women’s field getting taken out.
After we were allowed to resume, there was a series of corners with attacks at each one. The first couple were manageable for me, but on the final corner, I got spat off the back. Next was a long (~4 miles), slightly uphill stretch where I could see the peloton ahead but couldn’t close the gap. It was super frustrating. I was working with another woman from Valkyr Cycling, but even together, we weren’t making progress. Further back, a group of 4 or 5 riders was gaining on us, so we decided to sit up and wait for them rather than waste our energy.
The rest of the race was fun but not very race-like. With the bigger group, we formed a nice paceline and caught another solo rider ahead. Our group consisted of three women from Coalition Cycling, three from Valkyr Cycling, a Red Truck Racing rider (who eventually dropped off), and me. Everyone else seemed to know each other and work well together, so I was happy to join the rotation. With the strong cross-wind, we even got the chance to practice echeloning, which Greg had just given us and the guy's team a crash course on at the AirBnB the previous night.
In the end, we stayed together until the finish but never caught the peloton. I considered attacking a few times, but the strong winds would have made it nearly impossible to stay away solo, and I wanted the group to continue cooperating to finish in the shortest time. Overall, it was a fun ride, but not much of a race after getting dropped.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11325521613
Nutrition: malto and gummy bears
Stage 3: Palisades Time Trial
Course: 8-mile time trial. Mostly flat with a lump near the start/end
Result: 32/36
Recap: Apparently, it doesn’t rain much in Wenatchee, but it rained almost all day for this race. This caused a dilemma for warming up - it was debatable whether riding in the rain would make me more or less warm, so I settled on sitting in the car and eating snacks until half an hour before my start time. Even when I emerged from the car, it was hard to get a good warm-up because the only available road was where everyone was parked, forcing me to constantly dodge cars and stop for people coming and going. A portable trainer definitely would have been useful here.
When it was time to go, I felt pretty good (if a little cold from standing around in line), but after the initial adrenaline wore off, my power just wasn’t there. The last time I did a time trial, I was able to hold 260-270W, and I hoped to match that, but fatigue from the previous days (and maybe the less-than-optimal warm-up) left me stuck at around 245W for most of it. I ended up being passed by two people, but both had actual time-trial bikes with disc wheels compared to my endurance bike with clip-on bars, so I’m kind of okay with that. As a side note, disc wheels do make a really nice “WHOOSHHH” sound as they go by.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11332408999
Nutrition: nut and fig bars beforehand and a malto bottle during warmup
Stage 4: Wenatchee Twilight Crit
Course: 0.5-mile four-corner crit in downtown Wenatchee. The short side of the course had a ~5% gradient, with cobblestones on the descent that were still wet from earlier in the day. At the finish line there was a beer garden with lots of spectators, which made for a fun atmosphere.
Result: DNF 😥
Recap: I was pretty embarrassed by my performance in this one, but shit happens. As we lined up to start, the official announced a $400 cash prime for the first lap - a sure-fire way to make it interesting from the start. When the whistle blew, everyone sprinted up the hill on the first turn and kept the pace high for the entire lap. I thought it might slow down for subsequent laps, but that was just wishful thinking as everyone attacked the hill again and again. Unfortunately, short hill sprints aren’t my strong suit, so each lap I found myself dangling off the back and having to catch back on again until I was dropped completely and then pulled a couple of laps later. Maybe if I came to Egan more often I would be better at that sort of thing.
In the end, it was mostly my pride that suffered. The results showed a gap of 1 minute, which meant I was still allowed to compete the next day and my position in GC didn’t change too much.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11334848012
Stage 5: Plain Road Race
Course: 51 miles with 2,600 ft of elevation. The first 50 miles took us through a flat and scenic loop beside Lake Wenatchee, before finishing with a 1-mile climb at 7.5%
Result: 26/33
Recap: Given my poor performance in the crit the day before, I was determined to redeem myself in the final stage. On the bright side, I hoped that getting pulled early in the crit meant I’d be slightly less tired than everyone else for this race.
After our neutral roll-out, the pace was much more forgiving than it had been on previous days, so maybe people were tired after all. At one point, someone attacked and everyone just let it go. I wasn’t sure whose job it was to chase, but it definitely wasn’t mine.
A few more attacks went, with people chasing them this time. I felt like I was starting to get the hang of predicting attacks and looking to the front to see them in real time, rather than reacting to the riders directly ahead of me. I also used momentum to move forward a few positions when riders were caught, rather than braking as the pace slowed. Maybe I was also just feeling more comfortable because the attacks weren’t as intense as on previous days.
At some point, people started randomly braking, and there were calls of “DANGER FLOOF!” Unfortunately, I’d been so focused on keeping my position in the pack that I completely missed it - a bear had walked across the road right in front of us. Crazy.
As we approached the feed zone, someone else attacked. I wasn’t planning on getting water anyway, but that wasn’t cool. Echoing my thoughts, someone else yelled after them, “That’s a dick move and no one likes you!”
Attacks were coming left, right, and center in the lead-up to the final climb. We’d caught the rider who went off the front at the start, and none of the other attacks had stuck, so now it was anyone’s game. I stayed with it until the start of the climb and then was dropped again as the stronger riders attacked the hill, but I was happy to make it to the final mile with the pack this time. Jen absolutely crushed it again, coming in 5th for the stage and 6th in GC.
Thanks for reading!
- Louise