The peloton of La Vuelta Femenina 26 by Carrefour.es was waiting for the final two stages in Asturias to decide the overall standings of the race. First on the menu came the summit finish to Les Praeres, and its ramps really made the expected difference as Dutch legend Anna van der Breggen (Team SD Worx-Protime) took matters into her own hands from the bottom of the final climb and dropped all her rivals, one by one, to triumph and claim La Roja as new GC leader.
One rider, though, did her best to resist the irresistible pace of the Olympic champion in Rio 2016 and nearly succeeded in doing so. It was up-and-coming Spanish talent Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ), who crossed the finish line just 8” behind the winner after a fierce chase, followed by Marion Bunel (Visma-Lease a Bike), who was in turn 29” in arrears.
The overall victory is far from settled, though, as Van der Breggen only has 18” on Blasi and 41” on Bunel, and no less than ten other riders within 2’00” from her in the GC. These gaps don’t allow the Dutch rider to take anything for granted, considering the most gruelling of the challenges is still awaiting – Saturday’s climb to the legendary Alto de l’Angliru.
Tag: Anna van der Breggen, Paula Blasi, La Vuelta Femenina 2026, Les Praeres, Marion Bunel, SD Worx Protime, cycling news, mountain stage, GC battle, Alto de l’Angliru
IDEM Paula Blasi delivered an outstanding performance in the first real mountain stage of La Vuelta a España Femenina, fighting all the way to the line to secure a brilliant second place behind stage winner Anna van der Breggen. The result also moves the young Spanish rider up to second place in the general classification on the eve of the decisive final stage finishing atop the legendary Alto de l’Angliru. Today’s stage covered 106.5 kilometres from Gijón to Les Praeres, featuring a brutal finale towards Nava, a short but extremely demanding climb with gradients reaching an incredible 27%. The day, however, did not start under the best circumstances for UAE Team ADQ. Mavi Garcia was first involved in a crash during the neutral transfer, followed by Paula Blasi going down in the opening kilometres of the race. Later in the stage, Maeva Squiban was also caught in a heavy crash shortly after the halfway point, forcing her to abandon and be taken to hospital for further checks. She remained conscious at all times. After the day’s long breakaway was reeled in, the GC contenders came to the fore on the final circuit. Under relentless rain and extremely challenging conditions caused by a heavy downpour, the decisive selection was made on the final climb. Following an initial downhill attack by Cedrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly), Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx) took control on the decisive ascent. Paula Blasi responded impressively, riding with great maturity and determination, holding her own pace throughout the climb while never losing sight of the experienced Dutch rider. With just over 1.5 kilometres remaining, Blasi briefly looked capable of closing the gap, but Van der Breggen found another acceleration and pushed on to claim the stage victory. Blasi crossed the line in second place, only 8 seconds behind the winner, and now sits second overall, 18 seconds down in the general classification. Tomorrow will see the final and decisive stage of La Vuelta a España Femenina 2026: 132.9 kilometres from La Pola Llaviana to the feared Alto de l’Angliru, the iconic climb set to decide the overall winner of the race. Paula Blasi said: “It definitely wasn’t the easiest start to the day with all the crashes, but we managed to stay calm, focused and keep the right mindset. It was a crazy day. Once the final climb started, I was feeling really good, so I just tried to keep my own pace and stay as close as possible to Van der Breggen. On the steepest section she was the strongest, opened a small gap and I couldn’t close it anymore. Still, I’m really happy with my performance today.” — Giorgio Torre Press and PR Officer For UAE Team ADQ (+39) 329.4131701 press@uaeadq.com www.uaeteamadq.com Photo credits: @gettysport DOWNLOAD PRESS RELEASE .PDF 2026 MEDIA KIT Follow us on Facebook Twitter Instagram Website
Meta Description: Paula Blasi finishes second on Les Praeres behind Anna van der Breggen and moves into second overall at La Vuelta Femenina 2026 ahead of the Angliru finale.
Frase chiave: Paula Blasi Les Praeres La Vuelta Femenina 2026 second place GC
Paula Blasi shines again on Les Praeres and climbs to second overall
Paula Blasi delivered an outstanding performance in the first real mountain stage of La Vuelta a España Femenina, fighting all the way to the line to secure a brilliant second place behind stage winner Anna van der Breggen. The result also moves the young Spanish rider up to second place in the general classification on the eve of the decisive final stage finishing atop the legendary Alto de l’Angliru.
Today’s stage covered 106.5 kilometres from Gijón to Les Praeres, featuring a brutal finale towards Nava, a short but extremely demanding climb with gradients reaching an incredible 27%.
The day, however, did not start under the best circumstances for UAE Team ADQ. Mavi Garcia was first involved in a crash during the neutral transfer, followed by Paula Blasi going down in the opening kilometres of the race. Later in the stage, Maeva Squiban was also caught in a heavy crash shortly after the halfway point, forcing her to abandon and be taken to hospital for further checks. She remained conscious at all times.
After the day’s long breakaway was reeled in, the GC contenders came to the fore on the final circuit. Under relentless rain and extremely challenging conditions caused by a heavy downpour, the decisive selection was made on the final climb.
Following an initial downhill attack by Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly), Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx) took control on the decisive ascent. Paula Blasi responded impressively, riding with great maturity and determination, holding her own pace throughout the climb while never losing sight of the experienced Dutch rider.
With just over 1.5 kilometres remaining, Blasi briefly looked capable of closing the gap, but Van der Breggen found another acceleration and pushed on to claim the stage victory.
Blasi crossed the line in second place, only 8 seconds behind the winner, and now sits second overall, 18 seconds down in the general classification.
Tomorrow will see the final and decisive stage of La Vuelta a España Femenina 2026: 132.9 kilometres from La Pola Llaviana to the feared Alto de l’Angliru, the iconic climb set to decide the overall winner of the race.
Paula Blasi said: “It definitely wasn’t the easiest start to the day with all the crashes, but we managed to stay calm, focused and keep the right mindset. It was a crazy day. Once the final climb started, I was feeling really good, so I just tried to keep my own pace and stay as close as possible to Van der Breggen. On the steepest section she was the strongest, opened a small gap and I couldn’t close it anymore. Still, I’m really happy with my performance today.”
(press office BIKE VOICES x UAE Team ADQ)
