Arlenis Sierra delivers her best performance of the season with ninth place at 2026 Paris-Roubaix Féminine

April 13, 2026

Cuban cyclist Arlenis Sierra Cañadilla delivered her most outstanding performance of the 2026 season on Sunday, April 12, finishing ninth at the sixth edition of the Paris-Roubaix Féminine Classic — one of the toughest one-day races in professional cycling, covering 143.1 kilometers between Denain and the Roubaix velodrome, with nearly 34 of those kilometers over the race's iconic cobblestone sectors in northern France.

The rider from Manzanillo, competing for the Spanish Movistar Team, held her position in the lead group of 18 cyclists that crossed the finish line 2 minutes and 20 seconds behind the winners. German Franziska Koch (FDJ United-Suez) and Dutch Marianne Vos sprinted to the line with identical times of 3:30:16, taking first and second respectively. French rider Pauline Ferrand-Prévot of Team Visma — the 2025 champion — finished third just six seconds back, while Belgian Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) and American Megan Jastrab (UAE-ADQ) rounded out the top five at 1:30 minutes.

The result marks a significant leap forward for Sierra compared to her previous showings in this race: she finished 56th in 2023 and 18th in 2024. Her ninth-place finish in 2026 also made her the highest-placed Movistar rider in this edition. Dutch teammate Floortje Mackaij came in with the same group to claim 16th place, while Spanish rider Laura Ruiz finished 80th. Of more than one hundred starters, 91 completed the demanding course.