Good Return for Cyclist Arlenis Sierra at Challenge de Mallorca

Cuban cyclist Arlenis Sierra had a strong return following her maternity leave at the III Women's Challenge de Mallorca, which concluded today after three stages.

Back with the prestigious Movistar squad, the Caribbean athlete contributed to the collective effort on quite difficult terrain due to the mountainous nature of its routes, which resulted in the Spanish team placing riders on the podium in each stage.

In the first leg of 128.8 kilometers, strong work by Sierra benefited her teammate, Swiss rider Marlen Reusser, who secured second place with the same time of 3:12.33 hours as French winner Maeva Squiban (UAE-ADQ).

Two others, Mareille Meijer and Liane Lippert, crossed in 13th and 17th places, respectively, and the Manzanillo native finished 28th as part of a group that took the lead at kilometer 50 and, with five kilometers remaining, charged uphill toward the finish line and the Marratxi-Felanitx trophy.

Sunday proved to be the happiest day, especially for the Manzanillo rider, who crossed the finish line in sixth place after providing decisive support to British rider Cat Ferguson, who used her speed to take advantage of the gap opened by the Cuban to dominate the stage and the Llucmayor Trophy.

As a result of the effort over the 134.8-kilometer race, in which Arlenis helped neutralize a breakaway around kilometer 83 and, between her team and UAE-ADQ, imposed such a pace that it dispersed the group, only 16 women remained at the front, setting everything up for the island rider to use her sprint to benefit her young colleague.

This Monday, with a challenge of 108.2 km and the final 50 over hills where three mountain prizes were contested, Arlenis finished in 55th place among more than one hundred competitors, but not before working for her teammates, who captured second place through Liane Lippert.

Arlenis thus began her critical path in races that contribute points to the International Cycling Union ranking, with an eye toward securing spots for the most important events, including the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.