Paula Blasi: “I can't really explain it yet”

April 22 ^nd 2026 - 18:53

Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ) reacting to her third-place finish and the final battle on the Mur de Huy: “I can’t really explain it yet, the finish was a bit improvised, I was going with Mavi [Garcia] for the final. I know myself well and I wanted to pace myself. I let Demi [Vollering] go and I was waiting for everyone else to pass me. But by then we were close to the finish and I just thought ‘let’s give it everything’. I think maybe Amstel Gold Race [which she won on Sunday] you could think it’s a lucky thing, the bunch let me go. Today was a matter of legs and we’ve proved with the team we can fight for the win.”

Regarding her rapid rise to become a race winner and top contender amongst the pro ranks, having joined the senior UAE Team ADQ squad only last May, she commented: “I come from triathlon, an endurance sport, so I had the fitness. But my mind changed to approach things better. Last year, I was struggling on the flat just to position, but I’ve learned fast with the team, especially this year with Mavi. We race almost everything together and we communicate a lot. I also worked on my fitness in Sierra Nevada and here we are.”

Giving her thoughts ahead of Liege-Bastogne-Liege, as her superb form this week continues, she added, “Again, it’s a new race for me on Sunday in Liege. We still have three days to figure out how we’ll race on Sunday, but we always race for the win and we’ll make a plan for that.”