In a sprint finish, with wet pavement and a sprint of almost a kilometer, Chilean Catalina Soto won the women’s elite road race at the Montería 2026 Pan American Road Cycling Championships, after covering 120 kilometers on a circuit held in the municipality of Cereté, in the department of Córdoba.
Soto added another milestone to her brilliant career, and with an impeccable sprint, the 24-year-old cyclist beat the rest of the field with a time of 2:59:20, beating Argentina’s Julieta Benedetti (silver) and Colombia’s Diana Peñuela (bronze) in the mass sprint, who crossed the finish line with the same time.
The finish was thrilling for the two-time Olympian (Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024), with constant attacks fragmenting the main peloton, leaving the strongest riders in the final sprint. Soto demonstrated her power and dominance in the sprint, reaffirming her status as the best road cyclist on the continent today.
“It’s a reward for effort and sacrifice. I have no words to describe how I feel, but I’m very happy for myself and for the team, who also helped me achieve this result,” said a happy and smiling Soto, who was showered with congratulations, interviews, and photos after the awards ceremony.
With rain, a wet road, and few attacks as the main features, most of the scheduled race unfolded to determine the new Pan American champion. However, with one kilometer to go, there was a large crash, which didn’t dampen the excitement and spectacle of the final sprint.
This victory represented the first Pan American gold medal of her career in elite road cycling and consolidates her dominance this season. Catalina Soto’s season has been spectacular since the beginning of the year. In January, she won the prologue and the third stage of the 2026 Tour of El Salvador, achieving her first UCI professional victories with her Spanish team, Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi.
At the beginning of March, she was crowned double national champion, winning gold in the Individual Time Trial (ITT) and the Road Race. Before traveling to Colombia, she stood out in Europe with a sixth-place finish in the Clásica de Almería (Spain), demonstrating her adaptation to the high international level.
With this victory, Chile adds its fifth medal at the 2026 Pan American Road Cycling Championships. In addition to Catalina Soto’s gold, Chile has won two silver medals with Luciano Carrizo in the time trial and the Junior road race, as well as two bronze medals for Aranza Villalón in the Elite time trial and Alexandra Osorio in the Junior road race.
Resultados Campeonato Panamericano de Ruta – Élite Femenina
Cereté – Cereté (120,6 km)
| 1 | Catalina Soto | Chile | 2:59:20 |
| 2 | Julieta Benedetti | Argentina | m.t. |
| 3 | Diana Carolina Peñuela | Colombia | m.t. |
| 4 | Diana López | México | m.t. |
| 5 | Yeniret Alexandra Roa | Venezuela | m.t. |
| 6 | Emily Ehrlich | USA | m.t. |
| 7 | Verónica Abreu | Venezuela | m.t. |
| 8 | Yendry Quesada | Costa Rica | m.t. |
| 9 | Natalie Revelo | Ecuador | m.t. |
| 10 | Lilibeth Chacón | Venezuela | m.t. |
| 11 | Andrea Ramírez | México | m.t. |
| 12 | Milena Salcedo | Colombia | m.t. |
| 13 | Melisa Ávila | Costa Rica | m.t. |
| 14 | Sara Nicole Torrico | Bolivia | m.t. |
| 15 | Wellyda Dos Santos | Brasil | m.t. |