Cuban cyclist Arlenis Sierra gave another outstanding performance to the Movistar team by winning second place in the Clásica Ciclística de Navarra 2024 with start and finish in Pamplona, Spain, disputed on 135, 6 kilometers this May 8.
Sierra overtook Dutch rider Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek) at the finish line, leading the main peloton of 21 riders, just eight seconds behind the winner, German rider Hannah Ludwig (Cofidis), who clocked 3 hours, 50 minutes and 16 seconds in the 135-kilometer course.
Completing the top 10 of the UCI elite race were Poland’s Dominika Wlodarczyk (UAE), France’s Julie Bego (Cofidis), Italy’s Elena Pirrone (Roland), Australia’s Brodie Chapman (Lidl-Trek), bambina Alice Arzuffi and France’s Cédrine Kerbaol (Ceratizit-WNT), and local rider Iurani Blanco (Laboral Kutxa-Euskadi).
The Cuban rider had the support of her teammates to stay in the “ball” that led the competition and finish on the podium, which earned her 150 points and now has 665 points this season, valid for the UCI world ranking.
From Movistar, the German Liane Lippert, who crossed the finish line in 23rd place, and the 37-year-old British Claire Steels, placed 26th, stood out.
For her part, the Serbian Jelena Eric finished 42nd out of the 70 who reached the finish line, in a day in which 26 riders did not finish the course, among them the Spanish Lucía Ruiz and Sara Martín, also from Movistar.
As for the rest of the Latin American riders, Miryam Núñez (Primeau Vélo – Groupe Abadie) placed 27th, 6:05 behind Ludwig. Then followed the Colombian Jessenia Meneses (Laboral Kutxa – Fundación Euskadi) in 28th place, while the Costa Rican Milagro Mena (Soltec Iberoamérica) did not finish the race.
Arlenis, 31 years old, is among the top exponents of the Spanish club in each commitment and is preparing for her third participation in the Olympic Games.
Navarra Women’s Elite classic 2024 (1.Pro)
Resultado Final (135,6 km)
| 1 | Hannah Ludwig | Cofidis Women Team | 3:50:16 |
| 2 | Arlenis Sierra *Cuba | Movistar Team | 0:08 |
| 3 | Shirin van Anrooij | Lidl – Trek | ,, |
| 4 | Dominika Włodarczyk | UAE Team ADQ | ,, |
| 5 | Julie Bego | Cofidis Women Team | ,, |
| 6 | Elena Pirrone | Roland | ,, |
| 7 | Brodie Chapman | Lidl – Trek | ,, |
| 8 | Alice Maria Arzuffi | CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling Team | ,, |
| 9 | Cédrine Kerbaol | CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling Team | ,, |
| 10 | Iurani Blanco | Laboral Kutxa – Fundación Euskadi | ,, |
By: Lisset Isabel Ricardo, Semanario Jit