Andrea Romero, a Formentera athlete, was crowned Spanish under-23 cross-country champion yesterday after finishing first in the national cross-country tournament held in Jaén. The athlete of the Juventud Atlética Elche showed her superb physical condition in the 10.215-kilometer race with a fantastic finish, allowing her to be crowned Spain’s champion and confirm herself as one of the sport’s brightest prospects.
Romero had to push herself again in an agonising finale, using all of her might to beat her competitors in a brutal race.
The Castilian and Leonese Ángela Viciosa made her debut in the category with the mandate of finishing 2021 with an 8th position in the European U20, and she made her intentions obvious from the start: to earn a medal and make that aim very tough for her competitors.
Viciosa set the pace right away, and a dozen athletes were quickly chosen to compete for the win. The roughness of the Sebastián Barajas course, with its numerous ups and downs, was taking its toll as the kilometres passed, limiting the number of medal hopefuls. After Nara Elipe and Raquel De Francisco dropped off on the final climb, just four athletes remained in the lead after three laps: Ángela Viciosa, Alicia Berzosa, Elia Saura, and Andrea Moreno.
Berzosa, a rider from Castilla y La Mancha, set the pace with tenacity. Andrea Romero, on the other hand, appeared to be struggling, threatening to fall behind on multiple times, as she did last November with a third-place finish that qualified her for the European Championship. Berzosa would pay for his efforts in the final lap, giving metres to Elia Saura’s increased speed, which Viciosa and Romero were able to match.
The Castilian and Leonese tried the long attack a little more than 500 metres from the finish line, on the penultimate hard hill, to avoid playing for gold in the final sprint. This move eliminated Saura, but not Romero, who still had one gear left. The Pitiusa athlete attacked Viciosa at the stadium’s entrance, and she received no response. As a result, Romero was crowned Spanish cross country champion for the first time with a time of 34:43.
Andrea Romero completes her under-23 stage with the title of Spanish cross country champion after winning silver in Getafe in 2021. Ángela Viciosa begins her career in the category with a promising second position, while Elia Saura also bids farewell to the under-23 division, rising from 16th to bronze last year.