Arlenis Sierra wins first stage in the Tour of L'Ardeche

Havana, September 9 (RHC)-- Cuban cyclist Arlenis Sierra (A.R.Monex) will wear the leader's jersey on Thursday in the second stage of the Tour of L Ardeche (France), after winning the first stage of the prestigious tour on Wednesday.

Arlenis dominated the initial stage of the race, covering the 112 km between Aubenas and Barjac in 3h10.02, after winning the final mass sprint among 55 riders among the 108 cyclists who took the start.

The Cuban was followed on the podium by Italian Marta Bastianelli (Alé BTC Ljubljana) and Spaniard Sheyla Gutiérrez (Movistar).

"It was a mid-mountain stage and one of the softest with respect to the altimetric level of the Tour. Almost 60 riders reached the final sprint, including several recognized riders," Leandro Marcos, a member of the Monex club staff, commented to the digital portal Jit.

"There are reasons to be happy for being the leader. It doesn't mean that she can win the lap because it's for pure climbers, but maybe she can finish among the first," he added.

He pointed out that at the start (on Wednesday) Monex's Katia Regusa also won the intermediate finishes, so today we took it all. We are very happy with the team's performance.

In addition to the overall leader's jersey, Cuban Arlenis will also wear this Thursday the pullover of best in the mountains, as she also excelled in that field.

The day will be disputed five mountain prizes, three of second category and the other two of third, in a route of 122.6 kilometers.