Paula Blasi stands on the Vuelta podium as the race winner.
/ UAE TEAM ADQ
On January 29, 2024, Paula Blasi was still lacing up her running shoes to compete in the Spanish Cross Country Championship by Communities in Getafe. She was part of the Catalan athletics team, earning a bronze medal in the relay alongside her twin brother, Víctor. “I was lucky to be part of the Catalan team and contribute. Running with the national team is always special, but even more so because I shared the race and the result with Víctor,” the now Vuelta winner wrote on Instagram.
Víctor has since stepped away from athletics. “He’s focused on his studies now,” said Francesc Escolà, Paula’s coach, as he reached the summit of the Angliru. Francesc was with Eva Cairol, Paula’s mother. Their trip up the Angliru was eventful—twice they had to step off the bus and walk part of the climb because the tires slipped on the wet road. Still, they didn’t miss a moment, watching the race broadcast from the finish line arch 40 kilometers before Blasi clinched the Vuelta.
Just two years ago, Blasi wasn’t a cyclist but a promising track athlete. “Until she got injured,” her mother nervously recalled moments before her daughter began her triumphant ascent to the Angliru. “She’s an athlete, first and foremost. She tried football for one season, then athletics until the injury, then triathlon and duathlon.” But both sports shared a common vehicle—the bike—where Blasi felt far more comfortable than in the water and with less risk of leg injuries than running.
“Once she was the last one out of the water, then took the bike. From last place, she finished the cycling section at the front of the peloton,” Escolà explained. Gradually, Blasi fell in love with cycling, quit swimming, experimented with duathlon, and began to embrace her cycling identity. This caught the attention of Marta Vilajosana, a frequent Catalan cycling selection member, who recognized that the same athlete who had won the Spanish 800-meter gold at under-18 had a special gift for success on two wheels.
It’s worth repeating: She has been dedicated exclusively to cycling for less than two years, and in that time she has become European champion, won bronze at the World Championships, claimed the Vuelta, triumphed in the Amstel Gold Race, and now sits among the top five riders in the world rankings.
Mavi García, 42, immediately saw that her 23-year-old Catalan teammate was no ordinary rider. “She has an immense future,” García said, emotional and satisfied, as she waited to see Blasi atop the Vuelta podium. García plans to become a director, guiding Blasi from the team car next year without suffering on the bike herself.
Blasi will receive offers, but she knows she is well cared for at UAE Team ADQ (the women’s team is completely independent from the men’s squad led by Tadej Pogačar). “They are patient and don’t make rushed decisions,” Escolà said. “She was listed as a Tour reserve from the start of the year, and they don’t like changing plans.” With Paula, a debate similar to the one in France about whether 19-year-old Paul Seixas should ride the Tour is already emerging—one that even involved the president.
