Lucas Bourgoyne and Aylena Quevedo take top spots in nine-race series
Men's USA CRITS overall top 3 riders joined on podium in Winston-Salem by women's overall champion Aylena Quevedo(Image credit: Adam Koble / USA CRITS)
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.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Image 1 of 6
Marlies Mejias (Virginia's Blue Ridge TWENTY28) wins 2025 Winston-Salem Cycling Classic
(Image credit: Adam Koble / USA CRITS)
Elite women competed in ninth round of 2025 USA CRITS at Winston-Salem Cycling Classic
(Image credit: Adam Koble / USA CRITS)
Juan Arango (Bikers Cycling Team) wins elite men's race at 2025 Winston-Salem Cycling Classic
(Image credit: Adam Koble / USA CRITS)
U23 USPro criterium champion Luke Fetzer leads acceleration on late laps at 2025 Winston-Salem Cycling Classic
(Image credit: Adam Koble / USA CRITS)
Overall men's podium for 2025 USA CRITS (L to R): Luke Fetzer second, Lucas Bourgoyne overall winner and Jamie Castaneda third
(Image credit: Adam Koble / USA CRITS)
Top three women for 2025 USA CRITS (L to R): Elizabeth Hardin second, Aylena Quevedo overall winner and Shannon Koch third
(Image credit: Adam Koble / USA CRITS)
Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. On the bike, she has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast), and spends time on gravel around horse farms in north Georgia.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
20-year-old Virginia's Blue Ridge TWENTY28 rider trained for the Manayunk Wall climb in order to 'get myself up and over it, and hopefully contest a sprint'
