Spanish cyclist Paula Blasi claimed her first Grand Tour title by winning the women’s Vuelta a Espana, capping a breakthrough season for the 23-year-old UAE Team ADQ rider.
Entering the final stage in second place overall, trailing Netherlands’ Anna van der Breggen of Team SD Worx-Protime, Blasi seized her opportunity on the brutal final climb of L’Angliru, where gradients reached 23%. Van der Breggen, a four-time Giro d’Italia champion, was dropped on the punishing ascent.
Blasi crossed the stage finish line in second position, behind Switzerland’s Petra Stiasny of Human Powered Health, but her overall lead was enough to secure the red jersey. The home victory solidifies Blasi’s emergence as a rising star, following her win at the Amstel Gold Race and strong performances at La Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
Blasi, who switched to competitive cycling in 2024 after an injury ended her athletics career, was asked how she would react if someone had predicted her Vuelta win earlier. “I would think you were joking,” she said.
The race was decided about four kilometers from the finish on L’Angliru’s steep slopes. French rider Marion Bunel attacked, and Blasi matched her pace while Van der Breggen fell behind. This was the first time the Asturias climb featured in the women’s Vuelta, known as one of cycling’s most demanding ascents.
“It was crazy,” Blasi said after her victory. “The best thing I could do was not think about it. I knew it would be about 50 minutes and so I said, ‘just keep going, keep on your pace.’ But I started to see Anna struggling and I said ‘let’s go for it.'”
Behind Blasi, 36-year-old Van der Breggen finished second overall, while Team Visma Lease a Bike’s Bunel, 21, took third.
**Vuelta Femenina Final Top 10 Results:**
1. Paula Blasi (SPA/UAE Team ADQ) – 22hrs 17mins 3secs
2. Anna van der Breggen (NED/Team SD Worx-Protime) – +24 secs
3. Marion Bunel (FRA/Team Visma Lease a Bike) – +49secs
4. Usoa Ostolaza (SPA/Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi) – +2 mins 31secs
5. Juliette Berthet (FRA/FDJ United-SUEZ) – +2 mins 36 secs
6. Urska Zigart (SLO/AG Insurance-Soudal Team) – +2mins 43 secs
7. Monica Tinca Colonel (ITA/Liv AlUla Jayco) – +2mins 51 secs
8. Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (POL/Canyon/Sram zondacrypto) – +3 mins 6secs
9. Barbara Malcotti (ITA/Human Powered Health) – +3mins 50 secs
10. Evita Muzic (FRA/FDJ United-SUEZ) – +3mins 55 secs