Colombian and Venezuelan road cyclists had a standout day at the IV South American Youth Games Panama 2026, with an outstanding performance on the Cinta Costera, where the women’s race kicked off at 9:00 a.m. with more than 30 cyclists competing.
The star among the women was Colombian Estefanía Castillo López, who took the gold medal after completing the course in 2:07:43, in a close finish. Valeria Vargas Atehortúa won silver, recording the same time, securing a Colombian 1-2 finish. Brazilian Mike Prada de Andrade Ramos finished third.
The race took place on a fast, technical urban circuit with several intermediate checkpoints and an average speed of 34.577 km/h, reflecting the high pace set by the lead group over the 92-kilometer course.
In the men’s race, the event began at 11:45 a.m. with more than 40 runners competing. Venezuelan Eduard Emanuel Ayala Arellano took first place (2:38:38), followed by Brazilians Pedro Lucas Dourado da Silva and Danilo Silva Araujo Gómez, who completed the podium.
The top Colombian finisher was Óscar Iván Restrepo Loaiza, who finished fourth with a time of 2:38:39, just one second shy of the podium. José Manuel Posada Franco finished tenth, Juan Esteban Sánchez Sánchez fifteenth, and Emanuel Restrepo Marín thirtyth.
These results concluded the cycling events at this youth competition, held in Panama City.