Cuban cyclist Arlenis Sierra arrived at the village of the Olympic Games in Paris to join the Cuban delegation with renewed energy.
The 32-year-old cyclist is motivated by the opportunity to face her third presentation in the five rings, now with all the experience accumulated pedaling in top-level events for the Spanish club Movistar, in which she is one of its main exponents.
“Having raced the Giro is a good base. They say that the road is not so hard … but we’ll see that on the day of the competition,” she says with a laugh, sure that it will again be a huge challenge to compete alone against the best on the planet.
The women’s road race in the Parisian event will be contested over 158 kilometers, on a route without prominent hills, a detail that favors the representative of the island.
“I think there is a very long climb and then we enter a final circuit, to which there will be several laps,” she says as part of the conversation with JIT, still unfamiliar with the course scheduled for August 4.
The start will take place in the very center of the Parisian city and after the first 10 kilometers it will be time to ride through the outskirts of the city. Back to the urban circuit, the candidates for the title will head towards the finish line set in an unbeatable location: on the Alexander III bridge, in front of the Trocadero garden and with the Eiffel Tower as witness of the emotions expected in an electrifying finish.
“In Havana I trained, although I slowed the pace a bit so as not to arrive so exhausted, after eight days of intense racing in the Giro. Now I have to wait, do a day’s volume here and try to “suffocate” before the race, as we say, so as not to arrive so relaxed”, she says about her plans for the previous days.
Arlenis will be the first Cuban with three experiences in an Olympic route. Dania Pérez and Yumari González participated in a couple of races of this type, while Yoanka González and Lisandra Guerra also accumulate three incursions in these races, but in different events.
In Rio de Janeiro 2016, Arlenis crossed the finish line in 28th place, still the best for a Cuban at this level. The Tokyo 2020 course gave her a 32nd place that left her unsatisfied.
She returns now with a great desire to give her fans the best possible performance, and for that she will have to show her best physical conditions, but also the utmost intelligence to successfully overcome the mission of facing the best of the world circuit, who know her and know of her capabilities.
“I know that in Cuba they love me a lot and it is very important that they love you with or without results”, she thanks before saying goodbye with her typical smile.
