María Mayalen Noriega is a Spanish cyclist who competes in regular cycling and Paralympic cycling as a pilot for Josefa Benítez Guzman, with whom she won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics. She has also served as a guide for Susana Rodríguez in the paratriathlon.

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María Mayalen Noriega

Personal information
Nationality	Spanish
Born	(1982-02-19) 19 February 1982 (age 42) Mexico
Sport
Country	Spain
Sport	Cycling

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Noriega was born on 19 February 1982 in Mexico.^[1][2][3] Her ancestry is from the Catalan region of Spain,^[4] and she now lives in Mataró, Barcelona.^[2] In 2013, she was awarded the silver Real Orden al Mérito Deportivo.^[5][6] In 2013, she had a broken scapula following a fall after a chain on her bicycle broke. This forced her to sit out of competitive sport for a few weeks.^[3] According to one of the sportspeople Noriega has been a guide for, she loves competition.^[7]

Her first sport was swimming.^[3] As a youngster, Noriega set national records in swimming in Mexico.^[3]

Noriega is a cyclist who competes individually, and as a pilot for vision impaired cyclists.^[5][8]

At the 2011 Stage National TT Championships Spain, Noriega finished fifth.^[8] She competed in the 2012 Spanish track cycling championships, and was one of the underdogs.^[9] In January 2012, she competed at the Ciutat de Palma Trophy IV as a pilot for Josefa Benítez Guzman.^[10] From the Catalan region of Spain, she was a recipient of a 2012 Plan ADOP scholarship.^[11]

Noriega competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in cycling^[5][12] as the pilot for Josefa Benítez Guzman. The pair won a silver medal at the Games in a road event.^{[13][14][15][16]} Following the London Games, she had an intention of focusing less on being a pilot and more on her individual cycling career.^[3]

In June 2013, Noriega competed in the Spanish national championships,^[4] finishing second in the women's road race.^[8] In 2013, she won the Girona City Cyclocross event in the women's category.^[17] Noriega has been a member of the Bizkaia–Durango cycling team in 2013 and 2014.^[1][18]

In 2012, Noriega competed in the Paratriathlon World Championships as the guide for Susana Rodríguez. She served as Rodríguez's guide for the 2013 Para-triathlon World Championships in London.^[7] Going into the event, she said that she was unsure if she would be able to match Rodríguez's stroke.^[3]