Paula Blasi: “I hadn’t suffered this much in my whole life”

May 9 ^th 2026 - 16:39 [GMT + 2]

Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ) finished first overall in La Vuelta Femenina 26 by Carrefour.es and won the Queen of the Mountains classification.

“This week has felt a bit long. It was my first grand tour, but I’ve been lucky to have a great team - and, especially, of having Mavi [García] by my side, as she is kind of an older sister for me and has looked after me the whole time. I’m thankful and emotional, because this victory belongs to every single one of us. I’ve received great support, up to a point on which winning was the least I could do for my teammates. I’m going to need several weeks for this to sink in. This Vuelta is ours!!”

“I hadn’t suffered this much in my whole life. Liège-Bastogne-Liège was already a struggle, but this struggle has been a whole different level. There have been several moments in which I felt like unclipping my pedals and putting my feet on the ground - I was just exhausted! Maybe I went full gas a bit too far from the finish, trying to follow Marion Bunel’s attack, but when I heard from the team car that Anna van der Breggen was struggling I couldn’t help but think of the red jersey. The last kilometre felt very long. In the final, I was pushing with my head rather than with my legs.”

“Enjoying the process has been key for this rapid rise. Sport has been my life. I’ve gone through very hard moments in previous years, and sport has saved me from them. Sport is not a mere job for me - it makes me happy. Resting is harder than training for me. Great things happen when you enjoy what you do.”