This spring, Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ) is quickly cementing her place not only among the best Spanish riders but among the best riders of the women’s peloton as a whole.
The 23-year-old finished second on stage 6 of the Vuelta Femenina, losing only eight seconds to stage winner and new overall leader Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) on the climb of Les Praeres, 3.7km with an incredible average gradient of 13.4%.
Although she was rated as an up-and-coming star, Blasi’s victory in the Amstel Gold Race put her name front and centre. That victory had come from a breakaway, but she confirmed her strength by going head-to-head with the favourites in the Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège to finish third and fifth. On Les Praeres, Blasi again found herself not only competing with but even riding stronger than long-established names.
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