Young Spanish rider Paula Blasi (23) concluded her remarkable Ardennes Classics campaign with a strong fifth-place finish at Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes.
Following her impressive victory at the Amstel Gold Race and a third place at La Flèche Wallonne Femmes, this latest result further confirms the consistency and excellent form of the talented Catalan rider.
The race covered 156 kilometers from Bastogne to Liège and featured a world-class field for what is the final Monument of the women’s cycling calendar. Once again, it was a solid team performance from UAE Team ADQ throughout the day.
The first move of note came from France’s Maeva Squiban, who joined an interesting breakaway group of seven riders that managed to build a decent advantage.
Behind them, the peloton – led primarily by SD Worx, who had missed the break—worked to bring the gap back, eventually reabsorbing the escape and bringing the race back together.
The decisive moment came on the iconic climb of La Redoute, where Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) launched a powerful attack, going clear solo and riding away to victory.
Paula Blasi remained in the chasing group behind. In the final kilometers, the situation evolved several times as riders reshuffled their positions in pursuit of Vollering.
Blasi, together with Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx), attempted to bridge across to the leading chase group. While the Dutch rider managed to connect with Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) and Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck), Blasi was unable to complete the move and remained just behind alongside Isabella Holmgren (Lidl-Trek).
In the end, the Spanish rider contested the sprint for fifth place with the Canadian, securing another excellent result and rounding off an outstanding week of racing.
(ph. @facepeeters)
