The Cuban cyclist Arlenis Sierraone of the main figures of the Movistar club, debuted this Saturday in the current season of the world circuit with a fourth place in the women’s version Clásica de Almería, in Spaindisputed over 137 kilometers between the towns of Vícar and Vera.
The 23-year-old Canadian, Emilie Fortin (Cynisca Cycling) took the win after covering the entire route in 4.19:53 hours, while her compatriot Alison Jackson (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB) was second, 16 hundredths behind, according to a note published in the digital edition of World cyclistic.
Let’s go with the Top-10 in Meta ??
1.Emilie Fortin @CyniscaC ?
2.Alison Jackson @EF_TIBCO_SVB ?
3. Floortje Mackaij @Movistar_Team ?
4. Arlenis Sierra @Movistar_Team
5. Aurela Nerlo @massitactic #ClassicAlmeriaWE23— Classic of Almería (@Clasica_Almeria) February 11, 2023
The Manzanillera was the best Latin American in the first edition of this test, entering the finish line with the same time as Jackson, but behind her teammate, the Dutch Floortje Mackaij, one of the six runners in the Movistar team who took the exit.
In total there were 110 cyclists of various nationalities who faced three intermediate sprints, the first in the town of Benahadux (kilometre 32), then in Uleila del Campo (77) and the last in Garrucha (128). In addition, the race had mountain passes in Cuesta Blanca (65) and Sorbas (99).
According to the report, the race was controlled by the lot for a large part of the route. However, in the last kilometers the attack by Fortin surprised, who ventured alone and ended up winning the duel against the peloton.
For Arlenis it was an excellent start to the season. Her location underpins the role within the Spanish club, which has her as one of the best teammates of its leader, the Dutch star Annemiek van Vleuten, who this time did not participate.
The Cuban cyclist played that role masterfully last season, in which she finished as the best placed in America in the final update of the ranking women’s world road race, Elite category, made up of the International Cycling Union (UCI).
Cuban Arlenis Sierra ends the year as the best road cyclist in America
In 2022, he completed the first year of his contract with Movistar and accumulated 1,398.33 points, to rank 20th in the ranking that included 1,368 cyclists, and dominated by Olympic and world champion Van Vleuten, who added 4,683 points.
Arlenis will return to the roads between February 16 and 19, when the Spanish team participates in a new edition of the Valencian Week, a demanding four-stage test that will mark the debut of Van Vleuten in the current campaign, according to announced the club.
