Cuban under-23 cyclists will seek more places for the 2nd Junior Pan American Games in Asunción 2025 in the continental track, road, and mountain bike championships, scheduled for next April in Paraguay, Uruguay, and Costa Rica, in that order.
Douglas Parrado and José Alberto Domínguez will participate in the points race, scratch race and individual pursuit, and the madison and omnium, the latter two qualifying events for Asunción, in the event, which will take place from April 2 to 6 at the velodrome in the Paraguayan capital.
Marlies Mejías and Daymelín Pérez will also participate in all of these middle-distance events in the women’s competition. Although both are elite, they can also contribute places to the Asunción Games in the madison (two-man relay) and omnium, stated Mario Alejandro Pérez, methodologist of the national commission.
This Pan American Championships will give elite athletes the opportunity to earn points toward the International Cycling Union (UCI) ranking for this year’s track world championships, as well as for the qualifying process for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
“It also marks the beginning of preparations for the Santo Domingo 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games,” added Mario Alejandro.
Maikel Cifrán (U23) and Keila Leal (Junior) will compete in the shorter cycling events (sprint, keirin, and time trial) at the continental competition, hoping to secure a result that will allow them to aspire to a spot at the Junior Pan American Games.
“It will be a tough challenge, but they are preparing for it, especially Keila, who will be racing the one-kilometer time trial for the first time, instead of the 500 meters she had previously run. The UCI made changes, and the women will also compete in the 4,000-meter individual and team pursuits, similar to the distance the men competed in,” explained Pérez.
The Pan American Road Championships, scheduled for April 23-27, will feature Ricardo Delgado (elite), Brian Guardado (junior), and the under-23s, who are eager to boost their ticket count to Asunción, including Bryan Mandín, José Alberto Domínguez, Douglas Parrado, and Amed Marcos, who will travel from Mexico, where he is training this season with the Petrolike club.
Pérez commented that the circuit for the two longest events in this discipline is in favor of the Cubans. It consists of a 13-kilometer coastal stretch, flat and with crosswinds, very similar to the Havana seawall that our team is well acquainted with. “We hope to at least secure second place in the road race, since Randol Izquierdo already secured one at the 2024 Guayana Caribbean Championships, and achieve the one we couldn’t achieve this time in the individual time trial,” the methodologist noted.
In the women’s category, contenders for the most places on the road race, Evelyn Matos, Lianni Rachel Mesa, and Karen Martínez, will compete, accompanied by Daymelín Pérez, who has already moved up to the category but previously secured two places in Guayana by winning the time trial and finishing second in the road race.
Izquierdo himself (under 23) will fight to add another place, this time at the Pan American Mountain Bike Championships held in Costa Rica on April 26 and 27.
He will be joined by the experienced Ludisnelis Fleitas and Jorge Rojas, who are seeking points for the UCI ranking, which will allow them to continue accumulating points during the Olympic cycle with a view to aspiring to a direct spot for Cuba at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Source: Jit, Lisset Isabel Ricardo Torres