Talent on wheels

The Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) has presented its two cycling teams for the 2026 season, the UPV Women's Cycling Team, which brings together a total of 41 cyclists from four categories - cadet, junior, master and elite under-23 - and its new venture for this season, the UPV Paracycling Team, led by Ricardo Ten, the most successful Paralympic cyclist in Spanish history and recent winner of the Infanta Sofía National Sports Award.

The presentation ceremony, which took place in the UPV Auditorium, was presided over by the UPV Rector, José E. Capilla, who highlighted that these teams' represent the best of our university: young talent that grows through hard work, elite athletes who combine academic excellence and competitive performance, and a firm commitment to equality and inclusion'.

The head of the Valencian polytechnic then added that the UPV 'does not see sport solely as competition, but as training in values. Every medal is important, but what is truly significant is the example that our cyclists and para-cyclists set for the entire university community and society. The UPV teaches us to think, create and innovate, but also never to stop'.

Assault on the top spot in the national women's cycling rankings

Currently ranked second in the national rankings, and backed by an upward trajectory marked by regional and national championships on the track and road and an outstanding presence in International Cycling Union (UCI) events, reaching several top 30 finishes, the UPV Women's Cycling Team aspires to become a benchmark for women's university cycling in Spain and to storm to the top of the national rankings.

Lucía Acosta, Maite Almodóvar, Alba Álvarez, Mallika Baneal, Claudia Bresó, Paula Van, Esmeralda Racionero, Paula Rodríguez and Maryoli Sosa (under-23 elite); Rima Gramaliauskiene, Pilar Mansilla, Julia Marí, Marla Toledo and Natalie Turjanicova (master 30, 40 and 50); Rocío Álvarez, Abril Gas, Amaya Hernández, María Matey Popova, Amanda Miravet, Débora Miravet, Alicia Moyá, Patricia Muñoz, Aitana Pérez, Sofía Roig, Carla Ruiz, Mar Moreno, María Villarreal and Aroa Villarroya (junior); and Valeria Almena, Lucía Arnalte, Marta Benedicto, Neus Bru, Jimena Gas, Nara Gómez, Nicoletta Malavia, Laura Martínez, Davinia Marín, Claudia Monge, Aitana Sánchez, Carla Silva and Zoe White (cadet), are the members of a team set to achieve significant successes in a particularly exciting season, with top-level events on the calendar such as the Challenge Comunitat Valenciana, the Copa España Féminas and the tours of Pamplona, Cantabria, Osona and Portugal, and/or the Gran Premi UPV and the Pionera Race.

A fundamental part of the project and its success, both in previous years and, hopefully, in the present, is the entities that, with their support, make it possible. Special mention in this regard goes to the UPV Social Council for its constant commitment to university sport, mainly women's sport, and Toyota Valencia, thanks to whom the team has the necessary resources to travel, train and compete safely. Alongside them, the collaboration of companies and organisations such as Vicente Gimeno Team, EFAFLEX, GSport, Carttec on Wheels, Proemisa, MTRUCKS, Ferrer, Nutrinovex and Zycle is essential for the existence of a project of this magnitude.

Twelve Paralympic medals and dozens of world championships for the debut of a flagship team

Alongside UPV Women's Cycling, the event included the official presentation of a particularly exciting project that expands the UPV's institutional commitment to inclusion and equal opportunities: the UPV Paracycling Team.

Led by the icon of Paralympic sport in Spain, Valencian Ricardo Ten, the team includes Maurice Far Eckhart Tió, bronze medallist in the individual time trial at London 2012, four-time world scratch champion and 47-time Spanish MC2 champion; Isabel Yinghua Hernández Santos, a former Paralympic swimmer with three appearances at the Games, one silver and two bronze medals at the World Championships and six medals at the European Championships, who since 2022 has been competing in Paralympic cycling, where she has been three-time European Cup champion and three-time Spanish track champion, as well as a bronze medal in team sprint at the 2025 World Championships; and Pablo Torres Muñoz, also from Valencia, one of the great promises of national para-cycling, who already has a Valencian Community championship in individual time trial and three Spanish runner-up titles to his name.

Flag bearer for the Spanish Paralympic team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, winner of six Paralympic medals - five golds, two silvers and four bronzes in swimming and cycling - 27-time world champion and 16-time European champion, and on his way to what could be his eighth Paralympic Games, Ricardo Ten is leading a project that was created with the aim of continuing to move steadily towards the society we want.

Pedal stroke by pedal stroke.