Havana, April 1 (JIT) - Cuban Arlenis Sierra starred in a praiseworthy performance in the XXI Flanders Cycling Tour 2024, in Belgium, arriving twelfth.

In one of the longest (163 km) and strongest one-day races of the world road circuit, the Cuban rider dominated all the obstacles of the day: cold and 12 climbs, seven of them on cobblestones and under an increasingly intense rain.

Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) imposed her pedaling over the finish line, followed by Polish Katarzyna Niewiadoma (CANYON//SRAM Racing) and Dutch Shirin Van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek), all three with a time of 4:16.04 hours.

Nine seconds later crossed Marianne Vos (Visma), Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx), Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) and Silvia Persico (UAE-ADQ), and further back was Demi Vollering (SD Worx).

The main peloton arrived one minute and 40 seconds behind the escapees, a time set by Letizia Paternoster (Liv AlUla Jayco) and Karlijn Swinkels (UAE-ADQ), who rode ahead of the "ball" of 14 riders.

That group was led by Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx) and the West Indian Sierra, 1.46 minutes behind the heroine of the day. The other Movistar rider with the best performance, Denmark's Emma Norsgaard, also rode.

Other Spanish teammates, Aude Biannic and Floortje Mackaij, placed 42nd and 81st, respectively. A total of 88 riders finished the demanding course, during which a fall on the cobblestones affected a dozen riders.

Other riders fell on the wet asphalt; the massive peloton broke up and with less than 40 kilometers to go, a group of eight riders formed and dominated the competition. They took advantage of the final downhill and flat stretch to the finish line.

This is the fourth race in Belgium, where the Cuban has made good dividends. Previously she was included in the seventeenth, sixth and eighth places, which contributes to her preparation for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024.