Paula Blasi makes history. The 23-year-old Catalan rider from UAE Team ADQ claimed overall victory at La Vuelta España Femenina 2026, delivering another outstanding performance of strength, class and maturity on the legendary slopes of the Angliru.
After yesterday’s brilliant ride, the young Spaniard confirmed her exceptional form once again in the seventh and final stage, managing the most feared climb of the race with remarkable composure. Blasi handled the pressure with confidence, responded to every attack from her rivals and distanced the red jersey Anna van der Breggen, finishing second on the stage and securing the overall victory.
With this success, Paula Blasi becomes the first Spanish rider in history to win La Vuelta Femenina. Another historic milestone in an already memorable season, after becoming the first Spanish cyclist to win a Classic, the Amstel Gold Race. A day that definitively establishes her as one of the brightest talents in world cycling.
Her rise has been entirely developed within the UAE Team ADQ project: from her first steps in elite cycling with UAE Development Team, through steady growth and progression, to her promotion to the WorldTour team in the middle of last season, culminating now in her breakthrough over the past few weeks.
Paula Blasi, wearing the red jersey, said: “I still can’t believe it. Wearing the red jersey as winner of La Vuelta Femenina is something incredible. It was another crazy day and this climb was so hard. First of all, I want to thank my team and my teammates for the exceptional work they did. I just tried to stay focused and calm. I knew what pace I had to hold on the climb. When I saw Anna van der Breggen was struggling a bit, it gave me extra motivation, but I still tried not to go too deep and simply stick to my own rhythm until the finish. It’s an incredible joy, even if I still haven’t fully realised what I’ve done today and in these past few weeks. Now I just want to celebrate with my team and enjoy some rest.”
The final stage covered 132.9 kilometres from La Pola Llaviana to Alto de l’Angliru and featured a long breakaway of three riders. The last rider to be caught was Liane Lippert (Movistar Team), reeled in by the favourites midway up the final ascent: more than 13 kilometres long with gradients reaching a brutal 23.5%.
The decisive selection came on the steepest slopes of the Angliru. The leading group was reduced to Petra Stiasny (Human Powered Health), Juliette Berthet (FDJ-SUEZ), Marion Bunel (Visma | Lease a Bike), Valentina Cavallar and Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime). Bunel’s acceleration put race leader van der Breggen under pressure, while Paula Blasi held her own pace with impressive composure before moving into the lead.
Inside the final two kilometres, Petra Stiasny managed to come back and overtake Blasi to take the stage win. The Spanish rider, however, remained fully in control, crossing the line in second place, 23 seconds behind the winner, with a 20-second advantage over Berthet and Bunel, and 59 seconds over van der Breggen.
Thanks also to the time bonuses collected during the stage, Paula Blasi secured the overall general classification by 24 seconds over Anna van der Breggen and 49 seconds over Marion Bunel, capping off a perfect day by also winning the Queen of the Mountains classification.
An unforgettable day for UAE Team ADQ and for Spanish cycling.
(ph. Getty Sport)
