Amstel Gold winner Paula Blasi 'needs to take a breath' after late sign-up for race - 'I was not even supposed to be here'
Published 19/04/2026 at 15:13 GMT+1
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Amstel Gold winner Paula Blasi explained that she only signed up for the race yesterday due to dropouts, after a magnificent runaway victory in Belgium.
'The biggest victory of her career' - Blasi records remarkable win at Amstel Gold Race
Video credit: TNT Sports
The Spaniard made the most of the unexpected opportunity, breezing through the field to win by 27 seconds.
In just her second season riding for UAE Team ADQ, it was her biggest career win to date and one that will certainly put her on the map going forward.
Incredibly, Blasi admitted that she was only down to compete in the Amstel Gold race on Saturday, with cyclists dropping out through injury and illness and the 23-year-old opting to give it a shot.
”I don’t know actually right now [what it means to win] because I was not even supposed to be here,” she said.
”I just signed up yesterday for the race because we had some injuries and some sickness. So it was not even on my mind to be racing here, so I need to take a breath and accept what happened.”
Despite the comfortable winning margin, this was by no means easy, with Blasi explaining that she was unaware how much longer of the race she had left when she first stormed into the lead, while she also took a wrong turn at one stage.
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'That might have cost her' - Blasi takes a wrong turn
Video credit: TNT Sports
Blasi pulled clear with 20km to go, leaving behind Nienke Vinke, and when she was told how much further she had left, it was there that Blasi realised how difficult the end was going to be.
”I was alone when I crossed the finish line - I did not even know how much kilometres left I had,” she said.
”I was like, 'oh hopefully I have just five to go', and then suddenly they said 'no, you still have 20 to go'. I knew it was going to be a hard day in the front.
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”Five minutes before I did the breakout, I was dropped. So I just came back and I said, 'okay, let’s give it a go, try to help the team', and then suddenly I found myself in the front.”
Blasi was routinely dropped before she emerged in front and explained that she was struggling with a mixture of nerves and not knowing where to position herself in her first attempt at a race in Ardennes.
In the end, she decided it was best to be at the front to avoid being dropped again and incredibly, once she led, she could not be caught.
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'Going on the attack here' - Vinke and Blasi go head-to-head
Video credit: TNT Sports
”Since the beginning, I said to the team that I was struggling quite a bit with the positioning because it is my first race here in Ardennes, so I was a bit nervous and it was nothing that I have done before,” Blasi added.
”It is quite crazy. It is quite difficult to be in the front and that is actually the most important part, so I was struggling a bit.
”I was way far behind, so I was kind of being dropped, coming back, being dropped, coming back.
”At one point, I said, 'be at the front, if you can go in the breakaway, it will be better because then you will not have to fight for the position'.”
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