This past weekend, the best of paralympic cycling in the world gathered in the municipality of Yaiza, hosting runners with numerous international championships in their record. A fact that guaranteed the spectacle of speed, emotion, overcoming and inclusiveness.
The event, included in the Spanish Paralympic Cycling Cup of the Royal Spanish Cycling Federation and endorsed by the Higher Sports Council of the Government of Spain, was held for the first time in history outside the Peninsula and had judges from the Canary Federation.
On Friday, March 7, the Handbike Lanzarote International began with the well-known time trial of Las Salinas, which started at 4:30 p.m., doubling the route of previous editions to make it more attractive, going from 7 to 14 kilometers. A fight against the clock that Manuela Vos won in the WH1 category and Pilar Montoya in WH4.
In the MC1 bicycle discipline, the world champion Ricardo Ten took the victory; in MC2, Luis Javier Castillo took the leader's jersey; in MC3, Eduardo Santas, in MC4 Julio Enrique Bermejo and in MC5 Julio Pedro Blasco.
In the Handbike category, the winners in their respective categories were MH2 José Manuel Muñoz, MH3 Héctor Esturillo, in MH4 the resident in Playa Blanca Jonas Van Steene and in MH5 Ivan Montero. In the Tandem category, the winner was Antonio José González.
Immediately afterwards, the authorities present, including the mayor of Yaiza, Óscar Noda, and the sports councilor, Ángel Lago, as well as the councilor for Security and Emergencies, Beatriz Vazquez, and the national paraciclismo coach, Begoña Luis Pérez, presented the medals and trophies, in addition to the jerseys with which the following day, according to federal regulations, they should run as leaders of the Spanish Cup.
On Saturday, despite being accompanied by continuous rain, the athletes offered a great show through the central streets of Playa Blanca in a test consisting of giving the greatest number of laps possible to an urban circuit of 2 km, in a time of one hour plus an additional lap.
The bicycle winners were Ricardo Ten in MC1, in MC2 Luis Javier Arcega, in MC3 Eduardo Santas, in MC4 Julio Enrique Bermejo, in MC5 Iván Martín; while in handbike the victory in this circuit was for Jose Manuel Muñoz in MH2, in MH3 Héctor Esturillo, in MH4 Jonas Van De Steene, and in MH5 Iván Montero. In the female gender, the winners were Manuela Vos, in WH1, and Pilar Montoya in WH4. In the tandem section, the champion was Antonio José González.
Plaza del Carmen, in Playa Blanca, was the stage for the presentation of medals and trophies, as well as the leader's jersey that they must wear in the next Cup event, which will be held on March 22 and 23 in Murcia.
The Mayor of Yaiza, wanted to thank the Spanish and Canary Federation "for their support to this event as well as European Sport Destination of Tourism Lanzarote, and the sports service of the Cabildo de Lanzarote for continuing to support events that promote inclusiveness and values of overcoming, as Yaiza has been doing for many years".
For his part, the sports councilor of Yaiza, Ángel Lago, wanted to send a message of hope for the next edition after the success of the celebration for the first time of the Spanish Cup in the Canary Islands, in which Yaiza has once again led sports and inclusion. “We will continue working to improve our sports offer every day and our way of promoting sports with special attention to adapted sports”, highlights the southern mayor.