Spanish champions

Valeria Almera and Nara Gómez were crowned Spanish champions in the Madison and Omnium championships held at the Illes Balears velodrome in Palma de Mallorca on 10 and 11 January. Around 150 riders from the cadet, junior, under-23 and elite categories took part.

The Omnium category is a combined track cycling event that assesses cyclists' versatility through four endurance events: scratch, tempo race, elimination race and points race. It is considered the most complete track cycling event. It is contested in different categories, and the distances covered vary.

Valeria Almena dominated the competition with intelligence and ambition. She started with a third place in the scratch, then won the tempo race and took the lead. In the elimination race, she climbed back to the top, leaving the title well within her reach.

And finally, in the last event, the points race, she rode it perfectly, crossing the finish line in fourth place, enough to be crowned Spanish Omnium champion.

Nara Gómez had a fast race, where she and Adriana Segura cemented their victory in the second half of the race, winning two of the last three sprints, including the last one, which counts double. Thus, they were crowned Spanish Madison champions in the pairs event.

A dream come true and a boost.

For Valeria Almera, this victory is 'a dream come true. I thought I could be on the podium, so seeing myself as the winner of a Spanish Championship makes me realise that with hard work and sacrifice, dreams can come true. ' Now we have to keep working to maintain this level, 'we mustn't let our guard down,' she says. Nara Gómez considers this podium finish to be 'a huge boost to continue training as a cyclist, where the effort, determination and enthusiasm I have put into achieving this have been recognised'.

Valeria Almera started cycling because of her sister Leyre, a cyclist whose family accompanied her to competitions. That is why Valeria began competing at the age of three.

She is passionate about cycling, which she combines with her studies in the third year of secondary school at the Tierno Galván Institute in Moncada. 'With a lot of sacrifice and organisation,' she says, she can find time for everything.

Belonging to the UPV cycling team provides her with technical support, and she says that 'they give me security and confidence in races. I haven't been there long, but I feel supported,' she says.

Nara Gómez has grown up surrounded by bicycles because her whole family is a cycling family. At the age of nine, she began competing at the Granja Rinya Club. She considers the UPV Cycling Club 'to be the driving force behind women's cycling in Valencia and one of the best women's grassroots cycling teams in Spain'. Nara Gómez also believes that the club gives her confidence and 'sets me on the right track in my career as a cyclist'. She studies at the Veles e Vents Institute in Torrent