Cycling
Havana, May 19 (JIT) - Douglas Parrado, from the Cuba-Pista team, won the II Castrol Cycling Cup, which concluded this Sunday in the attractive La Piragua circuit of the capital.
The Holguin-born rider in the under-23 category was followed by his co-representative, Alexandro Rubio, and Joselyn Piedra, from Matanzas.
The fourth stage, run at a distance of 72 kilometers (20 laps), ended with the victory of Ricardo Delgado (Cuba-Ruta), followed by Julio Camacho (Cuba-Juvenil), both with a time of 1:35.58 hours.
The peloton came in behind, barely 20 seconds later, led by 23-year-old Cristian Argüelles (Cuba-Pista), who thus claimed the third place on the podium for the most outstanding riders in the farewell stage.
Delgado, Camacho, and Brayan Mandín (Cuba-Pista), also from Sancti Spíritus, "broke away" from the pack after only two laps of the circuit and stayed in the lead until the end. Except Mandín, who suffered a puncture, and lost the podium for the third time in the four stages.
In any case, he showed his physical form, as he was just a short distance away from the sprint, but he crossed first through the three flying goals located at turns 5, 10, and 15, always followed by Delgado and Camacho, in that order.
That earned the boy the points prize with 10 and relegated Piedra (9) to second place, while Delgado moved up to third place (6).
In a day in which the strong sun punished the whole time, the women's national team also raced in the men's peloton, with the victory going to one of its most experienced members, Evelyn Díaz, although she is only 22 years old.
She entered third this Sunday in the last stage, however the advantage achieved in the previous ones confirmed her leadership, escorted by the capital's Ludisnelis Fleitas, our best exponent in mountain bike, and Yumurina Karen Martinez.
Liannis Rachel Mesa, one of the most talented female riders of the island at the moment, did herself justice by finishing ahead of her teammates with a time of 1:11.54 hours in the 15 laps agreed for the girls, followed by Karen and Evelyn.
Liannis started the race on Thursday with a victory in the individual time trial, however, one day later she lost her leading position when her bicycle suffered a serious breakage in the gear change and she came in last.
