Mara Roldan, the first female Yukoner to be signed onto a professional cycling team, according to the Yukon's cycling association, will be representing Cycling Canada’s national team at the UCI Road World Championships held in Zurich, Switzerland from Sept. 21-29.
The 20 year old will be competing on Cycling Canada’s under-23 elite team as the only territorial representative on a mixed roster of 15 athletes.
On Sept. 25, after the News’ print deadline, Roldan will be in Switzerland’s largest city, competing on the international stage in the mixed relay time trail event. The circuit runs through three of Zurich’s urban subdivisions, covering a distance of 53.7 kilometres.
On Sept. 28, Roldan will compete in the UCI Road Championship’s Women Elite Road Race. The event comprises 208 registered riders racing on a 154-kilometre circuit from Zurich to the neighbouring Swiss town of Uster.
The Cycling Association of Yukon announced in February that Roldan had signed another contract with the U.S.-based UCI Continental road team, Cynisca Cycling, for the 2024 season.
Roldan racked up five podium spots throughout the 2023 season while riding for Cynisca Cycling. She earned a trifecta of gold medals in regional races throughout the season in British Columbia, notably placing first at the B.C. Road Cycling Provincial Championship’s elite under-23 women’s event.
In February, the Yukon government recognized Roldan’s athletic performance by awarding her the Premier’s Award of Sport Excellence, as well as the National/Territorial Female Athlete of the Year.
Roldan kicked off Cynisca Cycling’s 2024 competitive season in the U.S. with wins in the first and fifth stages of the Californian Redlands Bicycle Classic race between April 10-14.
Between June 21-23, Roldan returned to Canada and won the National Championships title in both events held in Beauce, Quebec. She secured gold in the women’s under-23 time trial event and earned bronze in the women’s elite road race, which covered 114.8 kilometres.
On July 4, she earned gold in stage two of the Portuguese Volta a Portugal Feminina in Lisbon shortly after her Canadian National Championships win.
Roldan is the second Yukoner, after Zach Bell, to join a professional cycling team. Each season, Roldan consistently achieves podium finishes, representing Yukon on the international competitive cycling stage.
Contact Jake Howarth at jake.howarth@yukon-news.com
