Lidia Castro de la Serna

Lidia Castro de la Serna, born February 21, 2008, in Valladolid, Spain, is one of the most exciting young road cyclists in Europe. She grew up in Arroyo de la Encomienda, a municipality in the Valladolid province of Castile and León, and began cycling at age six with Club Ciclista Arroyo under coach Juan Carlos Domínguez. A versatile rider equally at home on road and cyclocross, she competes for Mirat Team, the Salamanca-based junior squad that has become one of Spain's top development programmes. In January 2023, she claimed bronze at the Spanish National Cyclocross Championships in the cadet category. In 2024, she won the Vuelta a Cantabria in the cadet category with a clean sweep of stage victories, and also secured the Copa de España Féminas. That same year she caught the attention of UAE Team Emirates, who began monitoring her progress. In 2025, competing as a junior for Mirat Team, she represented the Spanish national team in multiple international competitions. She finished third overall at the Tour de Valromey, the most prestigious junior team stage race in the world, helping Mirat Team claim second place by teams. She earned second place at the Copa de Naciones Bizkoloreak, finished eighth at the European Championships junior road race in France — entering the final group of six chasers behind eventual winner Paula Ostiz — and was selected for the Junior World Championships in Rwanda. In December 2025, her performances earned her an invitation to the Jayco AlUla World Tour women's team training camp in Dénia, a rare distinction for a junior rider. Her brother Pedro Castro also races at elite level. Multiple World Tour teams are reportedly tracking her development heading into 2026.