Twenty24 Fights the Wind, Ushering Mejias to Victory at Fort Bayard

Category: Front Page News Front Page News
Published: 25 April 2024 25 April 2024

mejias 2Mejias crosses the finish line: Photo by VeloImages/Brian Hodes for Tour of the Gila.

By Rebecca Reza, RadioTour

Marlies Mejias of Virginia's Blue Ridge Twenty24 outsprinted her rivals to score the first major victory of the 2024 season on stage 2 at the Tour of the Gila. Mejias had won the sprint classification a little over a week ago at Redlands Bicycle Classic but was not able to take a stage victory despite her best efforts. She crossed the finish, emotional and celebrating with her team shortly after.

"It's not my victory but the entire team, and the hard work that they did that afforded me this win," Mejias said.

The day had begun with the first of two intermediate sprints a little over five miles into the race. Margarita Misyurina was leading the classification at the start of the day, winning the first intermediate sprint and securing the green jersey for another day.

The first of three Queen of the Mountain sprint lines were up next. Anet Barrera took the top points crossing the sprint line first for DNA Pro Cycling. She managed to escape the field descending down the Sapillo, taking the second QOM points of the day. The points earned would move her up to third place in the classification, after the General Classification leader Lauren Stephens and her teammate Nadia Gontova.

Unfortunately, there were several crashes during the descent down the mountain. Cynisca Cycling's Mara Roldan crashed when her wheel slipped out from under her as she was taking a turn. Roldan ultimately did make the decision to abandon the race; mostly out of precaution for a possible concussion, her team said later. Sara Poidevin also crashed but was able to get back on the bike and catch up to the main field soon after. Barrera was absorbed shortly after making the turn into the valley.

Elizabeth Dixon was next to try her hand at a solo move. She attacked after winning the second intermediate sprint and was able to maintain a gap of 1:15 for the entirety of the second Queen of the Mountain, even against the strong headwinds present, getting caught with only 3km to the finish.

"It was worth a shot. I think we feel a lot better," Dixon said. "We're a team that likes to animate the race, throwing attacks. We're happy about our performance today and ready for the rest of the week."

The winds, already high during the Category 3 Queen of the Mountain climb, began to kick up as what was left of the peloton began making their way up to the Freeport-MacMoran's Chino Mine on New Mexico Highway 152. The winds were averaging 20 m.p.h., swiftly pushing back against any move that tried to escape.

Virginia's Blue Ridge Twenty24 began organizing at the front, taking turns fighting the wind to position Marlies Mejias for the final sprint. Emily Ehrlich, Melissa Rollins, Sofia Arreola, and Emma Langley alternated as lead rider, fighting the wind to keep the pace high.

As the front group made the right turn heading back into Fort Bayard, Mejias bolted to the finish, out-sprinting Yanina Kuskova (Tashkent Cycling) in second and the red leader's jersey, Lauren Stephens (Cynisca Cycling). Stephens still holds on to her overall lead, extending it to 46 seconds ahead of Nadia Gontova (DNA Pro Cycling).

"It was quite windy coming into the finish," Stephens said. "We stayed safe all day for the most part. Unfortunately, we had Mara [Roldan] crash on the descent, which was tough on the team to lose her. Luckily, she's okay, so she'll be back soon."

Stage 3 is set for the Tyrone Time Trial, one that Stephens has won before.

"I'm really looking forward to the time trial," Stephens said. "It was nine years ago that I won the time trial, which shows you how long I've been doing this. I really hope to earn another stage win."

Kristen Taylor will be the first rider for the pro women to roll out of the start house at 10:30 a.m. for Milton Women's U23 Project.ce Leaders After Stage 2 (L to R) Kieran Haug, Best Young Rider; Wilmar Paredes Zapata, Race Leader and King of the Mountain; Ignacio Prado, Sprint Leader.

For Final Stage 2 Results Visit: https://tourofthegila.com/2024/04/inner-loop-road-race-results/ 

Content on the Beat

WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.

Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.

NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.

Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders. 

New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.

Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.

Submitting to the Beat

Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.

Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.

Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.

Editor's Notes

It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!

Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com

Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat.  The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!  

Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.