The young Spanish rider Paula Blasi, 22 years old, claimed a brilliant solo win today at the Pointe du Raz Ladies Classic in France, a 143-kilometre race from Pointe du Raz to Plouhinec.
It was an aggressive race from the start for UAE Team ADQ. A large breakaway group formed early on, featuring both Blasi and Italian teammate Sofia Bertizzolo. As the race progressed, the lead group was reduced to five riders.
Alongside Blasi at the front were Lauren Dickson (Handsling Alba Development Road Team), Anneke Dijkstra (VolkerWessels Women’s Pro Cycling Team), Célia Gery (FDJ – Suez), and Sarah van Dam (Ceratizit Pro Cycling Team). The quintet worked well together for several kilometres until the decisive moves came in the final lap.
Lauren Dickson launched a solo attack, but Blasi stayed calm and bided her time. With just a few kilometres to go, on a slight uphill drag, the Catalan rider counter-attacked with determination. She quickly bridged across to the leader, then dropped her immediately, powering solo all the way to the finish line to celebrate her second victory of the season – following her win at the Gran Premio della Liberazione in Rome on April 25.
Italian rider Eleonora Gasparrini also delivered a strong performance, finishing 10th in the bunch sprint.
Paula Blasi said: “I broke my front wheel in a crash in the first gravel sector and just tried to survive. Then, once I got out of the sector, I waited for the team car to change bikes. About an hour later, I had a puncture and had to stop again to change the front wheel, and then I had to work hard to get back into the group. Not long after, we entered the final circuit with six laps to go. The FDJ riders launched several attacks, and after three or four consecutive ones, the decisive breakaway was formed and I found myself among the five riders at the front. We were all committed to making it to the finish, and we worked well together. Then one rider attacked, and when I felt the moment was right, I bridged across to her. With just over one and a half kilometers to go, I went solo on a short climb because I thought it was the perfect time to try something – I didn’t want to risk it in a sprint. I’m really happy with this victory.”
(ph. Aymeric Lassak)
