Sao Paulo – The United States added the second gold medal in the Pan American Cycling Championships, thanks to the speed and endurance of Lauren Stephens, who improved Tuesday’s silver medal in the individual time trial after riding the 104.2 kilometers of the road segment, with a time of 2:45:11 hours.
The silver medal went to Brazil’s Wellyda Rodrigues, while the bronze went to Chile’s Catalina Soto, both with the same time as the winner, while it was noteworthy that only one of the 63 cyclists who took the start failed to reach the end of the course.
The elite women’s race demonstrated once again why road cycling is an exciting sport. Throughout the course, the teams from each country worked incredibly hard and adopted strategies to block the other teams that were endangering their leaders.
As a result, there were many exciting and disputed moments. And so to the finish, which proved most fruitful for the American Lauren, who managed to win a hard-fought sprint by starting on the left side of the pack and putting her front wheel in front of her rivals.
The champion had a lot to celebrate on Saturday. After all, she won the race, added another medal and remains firmly in contention for an Olympic berth for her country. “It’s been an incredible week. On Tuesday I helped my country in the individual time trial and today I was able to get first place. I think I’ve sealed my spot to Paris 2024 with this win,” said Lauren.
For her part, Wellyda, from São Paulo, was also happy with her result. “It’s an indescribable feeling to be able to arrive with all these fans screaming and cheering. The performance of my teammates was incredible, we controlled the race very well, and this result is the result of the harmony between all of us. I already stood on the podium at the 2017 Pan American Championships, and to be able to do it again at home, with my family and friends present, gives me immense joy. I’m thrilled,” he said.
The Pan American Road Cycling Championships ends this Sunday, May 26, with the men’s elite endurance race. The race will start at 8 a.m. on a 206.4 km course, starting and finishing in the arena installed in Via Cambuí, in front of Humanitas College. The race can be followed live on YouTube at www.youtube.com/@ciclismocbc.