The second place of the Colombian Diego Arboleda and the bronze of the American Alise Willoughby were the best results in America at the beginning of the rounds of the UCI BMX World Cup that was held in the Turkish city of Sakarya, where bicyclists of more than 30 nations.
The Colombian BMX team had an excellent start when Diego Arboleda excelled in Turkish territory and took silver in the elite category of the men’s branch, surrounded by two Frenchmen on the podium, Romain Mahieu with gold and Joris Daudet with the bronze; while another Colombian, Carlos Ramírez finished in sixth place.
Arboleda, a bicyclist from Antioquia, was once again a great protagonist in the world contest, just as it happened last year, by showing a great level in each of the series to ratify the good sporting moment he is going through, winning the silver medal.
For her part in the female branch, the northerner Alise Willoughby got an important bronze, behind the British Bethany Shriever and the Swiss Zoe Claessens, while the triple Olympic medalist Mariana Pajón finished with a fifth place that did not leave her satisfied.
The other Colombians competing in this category failed to reach the semifinals. Gabriela Bolle finished in 26th place after being eliminated in the quarterfinals and Andrea Escobar finished in 33rd place.
In the sub-23 category, the Colombian Sharid Fayad also advanced to the final, in which she placed seventh. While Isabela Carranza advanced to the semifinals, and was located in the tenth box of the general.
This Sunday the second round will take place, with the finals scheduled to be played after 4:10 pm (8:10 am Col.). The day will be broadcast live through the Youtube channel of the International Cycling Union.