Tour de Bloom Stage Race

The Tour de Bloom is the Pacific Northwest’s standout multi-day road race, running four days through Washington’s Wenatchee Valley during the Apple Blossom Festival each May. Hosted by Wenatchee Valley Velo, the race includes a mix of road stages, a time trial, and a downtown criterium — the kind of full-format stage race that tests everything in your legs before the season gets rolling in earnest.

The marquee stage is the Ed Farrar Queen Stage to Mission Ridge Ski Resort: 62 miles with 8,500 feet of climbing. It’s a bruising finish that sorts the field and makes for genuine drama. Equally notable is the organizers’ commitment to equal prize money across men’s and women’s fields — rare in amateur racing, and a signal that this event takes the sport seriously at every level.

Registration is through BikeReg and typically opens early in the year. Spots don’t last forever, especially for women’s fields where the Cat 5 entry has historically been free to grow the peloton. Worth the drive from Seattle — Wenatchee is three hours over Stevens Pass, which is half the fun.