Cuban cyclist Arlenis Sierra delivered her most outstanding performance of the season and the best for the Movistar team this Sunday, finishing ninth in the sixth edition of the challenging Paris-Roubaix Féminin Classic.
It was a superb performance by the rider from Manzanillo in the 143.1-kilometer race, almost 34 kilometers of which were cobbled, where she managed to hold her position in the main group of 18 riders, finishing 2:20 minutes behind Franziska Koch (FDJ United-Suez) and Marianne Vos, who took first and second place in the sprint, both with a time of 3:30:16.
Six seconds behind the German and Dutch riders came France’s Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, also of Team Visma, the 2025 winner. Further back (1:30) were Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) and the United States’ Megan Jastrab (UAE-ADQ).
The Netherlands’ Floortje Mackaij, also of Movistar, finished in the same group and secured 16th place, while Britain’s Carys Lloyd and Laura Ruiz finished 63rd and 80th, respectively. France’s Aude Biannic and Great Britain’s Cat Ferguson did not complete the race.
The Cuban cyclist thus surpassed her 56th place finish in the 2023 edition and her 18th in 2024. This time, more than one hundred elite women’s road cyclists participated, with 91 reaching the finish line in the Roubaix velodrome. This reflects the demanding physical and technical requirements of this challenging cycling event, where simply completing the distance confirms one’s place among the world’s elite due to the treacherous course.
The men’s race, covering 258.3 km, concluded with a victory for Belgian Wout Van Aert over the almost unbeatable 27-year-old Slovenian, Tadej Pogacar, in a thrilling sprint finish.
Source: Lisset Isabel Ricardo Torres, www.jit.cu