Arlenis Sierra: serenity at full wheel

July 16, 2019

The Guadalajara-2011 Pan American Games elevated cyclist Arlenis Sierra to the continental summit. In that competition, the Cuban, then 18 years old, staged a memorable breakaway in the women's road race, a specialty she won while defying all pre-competition predictions.

Eight years later, the native of Granma has confirmed that that golden triumph was not a matter of chance, establishing herself as an elite cyclist, among the best in the world, in high-level road races in Asia, Australia, Europe, and America.

The representative of the Greater Antilles arrives at the Lima-2019 Pan American Games in excellent athletic form, backed by a notable season with the Italian-Kazakh club Astana Women's Team, a squad in which she performs as a leader to ride on pedals through streets, avenues, and roads around the world.

In the Peruvian capital, the cyclist from Manzanillo will compete in three events (road race, time trial, and omnium), competitions where she has great possibilities of reaching the podium, given her experience. However, this does not mean that Arlenis will have an easy time when she mounts her bicycle.

"In the Americas there are good cyclists and I know some who will attend the Pan American Games, from others I don't have information if they will go or not, but if they do they would bring more level to the competition," the young woman told Granma via the internet from Colombia.

Precisely in Colombian territory, the men's and women's national cycling teams have been located for a few weeks. The Cuban "bullets" settled in the city of Boyacá, where they completed the final phase of their Pan American preparation by conducting training sessions both on the road and on the track.

"Both teams are doing well, we were able to do a lot of preparation work. There are some technical details left to define that will be corrected in the coming days, but in general terms the group of us here are ready to make a standout performance in Lima," Sierra said.

When asked how she evaluates the first part of the season, Arlenis summed it up as excellent, because she was able to compete in a good number of races that have her in top form for the Pan Americans.

"Physically I feel good and I have no discomfort, when you race a lot it's normal to get a bit tired, but I'm already used to those things. The season is that demanding, so I must manage my energy," she detailed.

Regarding the events in which she will compete, Arlenis said she considers it right to participate in three disciplines and does not intend to enter more, in order to avoid exhaustion and fight for gold medals in the road race, the time trial, and the omnium.

"These are three very demanding events and I decided to only race those, where I will give my best. I'm not thinking about gold medals, because that can pressure me and take its toll. The best thing is to go out and compete with calm and confidence that a good race will be achieved, I think successes come better if you face them from that perspective," she emphasized.

Arlenis indicated that the omnium is the hardest of her three upcoming races in Lima, since she hasn't raced it yet this year, but in Boyacá she was able to train to do well, where she will be Cuba's only representative.

This Monday both teams were returning to the country to attend the National Road Championship in the coming days, scheduled for the province of Holguín, the final competition before traveling to Lima.

"The two circuits for the road race and time trial in Peru are not entirely flat, according to the information I consulted. I think that's better, that they have some hills, but nothing exaggerated. That course favors me, if it were completely flat it would be more dangerous," she concluded.