Spanish cyclist Paula Blasi claimed her first Grand Tour victory at the women’s Vuelta a España on Sunday, triumphing at the summit of the iconic L’Angliru climb.
The 23-year-old UAE Team ADQ rider began the final stage in second overall, trailing four-time Giro d’Italia champion Anna van der Breggen of Team SD Worx-Protime. However, Blasi produced a strong performance on the punishing slopes of L’Angliru, where gradients reached up to 23%, to secure the overall title.
Blasi crossed the line second on the stage, behind Switzerland’s Petra Stiasny of Human Powered Health, but did enough to win the general classification. Van der Breggen, who was dropped on the final ascent, finished second overall, with France’s Marion Bunel taking third.
Vuelta Femenina Final Results
Paula Blasi (SPA/UAE Team ADQ) 22hrs 17mins 3secs
Anna van der Breggen (NED/Team SD Worx-Protime) +24secs
Marion Bunel (FRA/Team Visma Lease a Bike) +49secs
Usoa Ostolaza (SPA/Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi) +2mins 31secs
Juliette Berthet (FRA/FDJ United-SUEZ) +2mins 36secs
Urska Zigart (SLO/AG Insurance-Soudal Team) +2mins 43 secs
Monica Tinca Colonel (ITA/Liv AlUla Jayco) +2mins 51 secs
Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (POL/Canyon/Sram zondacrypto) +3 mins 6secs
Barbara Malcotti (ITA/Human Powered Health) +3mins 50 secs
Evita Muzic (FRA/ FDJ United-Suez) +3mins 55 secs
Blasi, who only began cycling competitively in 2024 after an athletics injury, has had a breakout season, winning the Amstel Gold Race and performing strongly at La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Speaking after her victory, Blasi said the L’Angliru climb was “crazy” and that she tried not to think about its difficulty. “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’.”
When asked how she would have reacted if someone had told her a year ago that she would win the Vuelta, she replied: “I would think you were joking.”
The win marks a significant moment for Spanish women’s cycling and further cements Blasi’s emergence as one of the sport’s rising talents.
