Arlenis Sierra signs with prestigious Spanish team Movistar

October 11, 2021

Cuban cyclist Arlenis Sierra has signed a two-year contract (2022-2023) with the prestigious Movistar club from Spain, one of nine with the maximum category of the UCI Women's World Team elite.

"As in previous years, I again had several proposals from different teams, but the one that interested me most was Movistar's because it offers me many possibilities to continue developing," the 28-year-old from Manzanillo told JIT exclusively.

"It's quite a big step for me. I was already accustomed to A. R. Monex -formerly Astana Women's-, which I'm very grateful for and especially to coach Aldo Piccolo, who brought me from Cuba to experience racing in Europe and gave me the opportunity to test the level on this continent," she added.

"I also want to thank the team's management in general, who have treated me well, but in life sometimes you have to take steps to progress or see how things work both in your personal and sports life," she commented.

"At Movistar I'll be able to race, but I recognize that I'm going to work, since there's the Olympic silver medalist from Tokyo 2020, Annemiek van Vleutun, and Enma Norsgaard, a noted pure sprinter. I'll have to work for them in several competitions. I have no problem with that. Since I arrived in Europe I learned to race for the team, to do it for others. They will also do it for me when the time comes," she noted.

"However, I want to try this new experience, take advantage of this two-year contract and we'll see what happens… I hope the results are much better and I can advance a bit more in my athletic level," she concluded.

In addition to the world-class cyclist from the Netherlands, leader of the road ranking worldwide, and the young Danish woman, the renowned squad based in Pamplona includes American Leah Thomas, French Aude Biannic and Spanish Sheyla Gutiérrez, among others.

Sierra finished in 34th place at Tokyo 2020, in her second Olympic Games. This does not diminish another outstanding season in which she participated in around twenty races and was included in the top ten in nearly a dozen. Historic was her fifth place in the world road championship, Cuba's best performance in such a competition.