Yuliet Rodríguez Jiménez


Yuliet Rodríguez Jiménez is a former Cuban racing cyclist. She established herself as one of the most consistent Latin American cyclists in a country that has produced great female racers since the sport was first introduced to Cuban women in the mid-1980s.

Cycling experience

A member of the Cuban national team since 1995, Rodríguez claimed over a dozen national titles in the time trial, the 3.000m pursuit, the points race and the road race, as well as six victories in the Copa 8 de Marzo, Cuba's annual stage race for women. Rodríguez's most recent national championship victory was in the 2005 women's road race.
Rodríguez finished 9th in the women's Giro d'Italia, and in the same year took 10th overall in the Vuelta a España. She also represented Cuba at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada, and the 1995 Junior World Championships in Italy. She was 2nd overall in the Tour of Mexico and Pan American Champion in the road race.
Rodríguez won the Tour de Guadeloupe in 1997 and 1998 and was third at the time trial in the Central American and Caribbean Games in Maracaibo, Venezuela.
In 2001, Rodríguez won three medals at the UCI Pan American Cycling Championships in Bucaramanga, Colombia. She has also raced in different World Cup races on the track in Mexico and Colombia. Her personal best in the 3.000m pursuit is 3:43, set in Cali, Colombia. Rodríguez is an excellent climber, time trialist and stage racer.

Race results

2004-2006

Rodríguez Jiménez is the wife of former US professional cyclist Joseph M. Papp; the two were married in Havana, Cuba on October 8, 2004. In 2006, Rodríguez defected from Cuba while in Russia in an attempt to reunite with her husband who was in Italy. After a global flight that included weeks spent in hiding and the use of an assumed identity, Rodríguez was kidnapped in Caracas, Venezuela by Cuban security agents operating with approval from the Chavez regime, held incommunicado for 20 days and finally forcibly repatriated to Cuba.