Panama City.- In a lightning sprint after an excellent race strategy, the American Skyler Schneider won this Saturday the direct quota to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, after winning the road race (f) of the Pan American Cycling Championship , which will conclude this Sunday with the long-awaited men’s road race.
The final sprint after 102.4 kilometers was a precision challenge, in which the American defeated the well-known Canadian Alison Jackson, who finished with silver and the same time (2 hours, 48 minutes and 8 seconds); while the Chilean Catalina Soto slipped to the right of the goal and took the bronze.
The strategy of the race was imposed by the American team, which only allowed slight escapes or escapes, with a bolt in which the Canadian, Colombian and Chilean squads also participated. In particular, Amber Neben was a protagonist in the last of the eight laps of the circuit, taking the lead of the pack and setting the pace herself.
A total of 80 runners from 25 countries of the continent took part in the 12.75-kilometer circuit on the Vía Panamá Norte, becoming the largest female participation in the history of the Pan American Road Championships. Of them, 63 managed to finish the course, although the first 25 competed for the podium with chances of success.
“I am from the northern United States, from a very cold place, so this heat here was strong for me. However, we made an excellent tactic and my teammates did it almost perfectly so that I could reach the sprint with strength,” Schneider told the media with a happy smile, although she acknowledged that she was still not convinced that she was already insured for the Olympic Games. . “Perhaps tomorrow when I wake up I will appreciate this honor.”
For her part, the Canadian Jackson, the queen of the cobblestones in Paris-Roubaix held a few days ago, acknowledged that she “came to look for that Olympic ticket, but Schneider was perfect in the auction and deserved the gold. It was an excellent race and I am very happy with this silver”.
This modality also distributed 12 places for the Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile, so all the ladies who remained in those places secured nominal places for their respective countries.
The United States thus added its second gold medal in the elite category, having dominated the individual time trial with Neben and secured third place in the overall Pan American medal table, behind Colombia (4 golds) and Chile (2-2-3). because they will not have representation in the men’s route this Sunday.