Ardennes Week kicked off with the 12th Amstel Gold Race Ladies Sunday in the Limburg region of the Netherlands, where surprise winner Paula “Classy” Blasi became the first Spaniard to take the prize. Called to the race in the eleventh hour, itt was the biggest triumph of the UAE-Team ADQ rider’s career. UAE-Team ADQ also won this year’s WorldTour races UAE Tour and Trofeo Alfredo Binda. Sarah van Dam was top Canadian in seventh.
Preliminaries
Last April SD Worx-Protime’s Mischa Bredewold took the biggest win of her career at the race. Alison Jackson at seventh and Mara Roldan tenth. Bredewold was back, along with third place Puck Pieterse.
A plethora of Canadians were on the start line. Jackson, Roldan, world champion Magdeleine Vallieres Mill, Olivia Baril, van Dam, Clara Emond and Kiara Lylyk made up the Canadian contingent.
The Course
The 2026 route served up 22 climbs along a twisting 158-km parcours from Maastricht to Berg en Terblijt. There were five 20-km finishing circuits, each containing the Bemelerberg, the Geulhemmerberg and the Cauberg. The last Cauberg crested a kilometre from the line.
By the penultimate lap, attacks on the Bemelerberg, Geulhemmerberg and Cauberg had created a 25-strong elite group at the front, van Dam accounted for and Valllieres Mill in a chase group +1:30. Nienke Vinke and Paula Blasi made a move that put them on Cauberg IV with a 20-second gap. Blasi left Vinke behind and when she heard the bell, the Spanish rider was 14 seconds clear.
Final Circuit
Demi Vollering put pace in the chase on Geulhemmerberg, dropping Marianne Vos. Vollering and company couldn’t yank Blasi closer on the Bemelerberg.
The finale was wet. Vollering and Kasia Niewiadoma launched on the Cauberg, sweeping up Vinke. Blasi dug deep and would not be denied.
La Flèche Wallonne is Wednesday.
12th Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition
1) Paula Blasi (Spain/UAE-Team ADQ) 4:02:15
2) Kasia Niewiadoma (Poland/Canyon-SRAM) +0:27
3) Demi Vollering (The Netherlands/FDJ-Suez) s.t.
7) Sarah van Dam (Canada/Visma-Lease a Bike) +0:43
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