Paula Blasi won the mountain stage of the Volta a Catalunya Femenina and took the lead ahead of the finale
Paula Blasi confirmed her status as one of the strongest climbers in the women’s professional peloton with victory in the second stage of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya Femenina, held on June 20, 2026, from Sant Vicenç de Castellet to La Molina. According to the results from ProCyclingStats, the 23-year-old member of UAE Team ADQ triumphed after 130 kilometers in 4:03:19, ahead of Célia Gery of FDJ United-SUEZ and Sidney Swierenga of the Liv AlUla Jayco development team. Cyclingnews reported that Blasi won solo after a decisive attack on the final climb, thereby taking the stage and the leader’s jersey in the general classification. Gery crossed the finish line 1:20 behind the winner, while Swierenga finished third, 1:36 down. In the general classification after the second stage, Blasi leads ahead of Gery by 1:24 and ahead of Swierenga by 1:42, the published results show.
The race in Catalonia produced the expected sporting outcome on the day that the organizer had in advance marked as the most important for the battle for overall victory. The official website of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya Femenina stated that the second stage, with the climbs of Coll de la Batallola and Coll de la Creueta before the finish in La Molina, was expected to be decisive in breaking up the race and shaping the general classification. That is exactly what happened: after a controlled start and the first more serious selections in the mountains, UAE Team ADQ gradually increased the pressure, and Blasi made the decisive move in the finale. According to the race description published by Cyclingnews, the group of favorites had already been significantly reduced before the final 25 kilometers, and after Julie Van de Velde’s attack was neutralized, Blasi went away alone a little under 14 kilometers before the finish. Her advantage was no longer threatened all the way to La Molina.
A stage shaped for climbers and a decisive selection on Creueta
The second stage had all the elements of a day capable of changing the entire race: 130 kilometers, around 3000 meters of climbing according to ProCyclingStats data, and a finish in the mountain setting of La Molina, a ski destination in the Pyrenees. The official stage description highlighted Coll de la Batallola, a third-category climb, and Coll de la Creueta, a special-category climb more than 21 kilometers long, whose summit lay within the final ten kilometers of the stage. Such a profile did not favor waiting for a final sprint, but rather a sustained rhythm and attacks through which, in mountain stages, contenders for the general classification most often separate themselves. That is why it was clear even before the start that teams with ambitions in the general classification would have to take responsibility before the closing kilometers. Blasi and UAE Team ADQ used exactly that terrain to turn the race into a test of endurance, positioning, and mental stability.
According to Cyclingnews’ report, Sheyla Gutiérrez of Movistar and Victoire Joncheray of Team Abadie Magnan went into an early breakaway, but the advantage never became strategically dangerous for the favorites. The breakaway was caught before the top of Batallola, and around 35 kilometers before the finish there was a brief neutralization because of an unsafe section of road. After the race resumed, the pace rose again, and the final climb quickly thinned out the leading group. In its summary of the day, ProCyclingStats states that UAE Team ADQ increased the tempo on the first climb and left a reduced group behind, after which Blasi accelerated and reached victory solo. That combination of team control and individual strength was decisive, because the rivals were left scattered along the road and failed to organize an effective chase.
Blasi built her attack gradually, without suddenly wasting energy in the early phase of the longest climb. Cyclingnews carried her statement that she knows the final kilometers well because she often trains on those roads, which gave the victory additional emotional weight. The same report states that she was aware of the danger if she reached the finish with Célia Gery, because the French rider could have been very troublesome in a direct sprint. That is why the decision to attack alone was both tactical and psychological: it was necessary to avoid a finale in which a faster rival could nullify all the work done on the climb. Once the gap opened, Blasi held it to the finish, while Gery and Swierenga fought separate battles for the remaining places on the podium.
Classification after the second stage: Gery and Swierenga the closest chasers
The published results after the finish in La Molina show that Blasi gained a substantial advantage ahead of the final day. According to ProCyclingStats, second place in the stage went to Célia Gery, a member of FDJ United-SUEZ, with a stage deficit of 1:20, while Canadian Sidney Swierenga was third, 1:36 behind. Évita Muzic, also from FDJ United-SUEZ, took fourth place, 2:26 down, while Mireia Benito of AG Insurance-Soudal Team was fifth in the same time range relative to the leaders in the chase. These gaps are important because the second stage carried the greatest climbing burden in the race schedule and because the vast majority of differences in the general classification were created precisely on the final climb. After such an outcome, Blasi not only won the day, but forced her rivals in the final stage to look not only for seconds, but for minutes.
According to data published by The-Sports.org, Blasi led the general classification after the second stage with a time of 6:18:36, while Gery and Swierenga were the closest chasers with the already mentioned deficits. At the top of the general classification are riders of different profiles: Gery confirmed her ability to survive on a long climb and fight for a high place in a stage race, while Swierenga, as a young rider from Liv AlUla Jayco Women’s Continental Team, achieved a result that goes beyond merely following the favorites. Behind them remained more experienced climbers and mountain specialists, among them Muzic, Benito, Maud Oudeman, and Quinty Schoens. The classification therefore shows both the depth of the competition and the size of Blasi’s advantage after the hardest day. In the context of a three-day race, a gap of more than a minute ahead of the final stage gives the leading rider a clear tactical starting point.
Broader context: the third edition of the stage race and the growing importance of the women’s calendar
The Volta Ciclista a Catalunya Femenina 2026 is held from June 19 to 21, and the International Cycling Union, UCI, lists it on its calendar as a 2.1-category race for elite women. The organizer’s official website states that this is the third edition of the women’s stage race in this format, after the editions in 2024 and 2025. The race opened with a stage starting and finishing in Santa Susanna, continued with a mountain day toward La Molina, and ends with a stage from Mataró to Barcelona on June 21. Such a schedule gives it the recognizable structure of a short but tactically demanding race: the first day tests positioning and sprinting, the second day exposes the balance of power in the mountains, and the finale leaves room for control, long-range attacks, or attempts to change the classification on demanding terrain toward Barcelona. In the international context, such races have an important role because they provide an additional competitive platform between the biggest WorldTour events.
The official route for 2026 confirms three days of racing in Catalonia, with La Molina once again receiving the role of the place where decisive gaps can be created. In the preview of the second stage, the organizer emphasized that the finish in La Molina had already decided the race two years earlier, which explains why the return of that location carried sporting weight even before the start. For teams such as UAE Team ADQ, FDJ United-SUEZ, Visma-Lease a Bike, and AG Insurance-Soudal, such a race also serves as an opportunity to test form, hierarchy, and tactics in a smaller but highly relevant competitive framework. The Catalan race also fits into the broader growth of women’s professional cycling, where the calendar is gradually gaining more stage events, more television and media visibility, and a larger number of teams capable of actively controlling races. Blasi’s victory is therefore not only a local sporting moment, but also a result that resonates in the international peloton.
Blasi’s season continues in a winning rhythm
The success in La Molina builds on a series of results because of which Paula Blasi became one of the most closely followed names in women’s cycling during 2026. Cyclingnews and AS note in their reports on the Volta that Blasi had earlier in the season won at La Vuelta Femenina and the Amstel Gold Race, and Cyclingnews also reported a few days before the Catalan race on her overall victory at the Tour Féminin des Pyrénées. Such a sequence of results is especially important because it covers different types of races: one-day classics, mountain stages, and general classifications. In La Molina, she once again showed the ability to recognize the moment when a race can be broken open and then carry the attack alone to the finish. That is a quality which, in stage races, often separates riders who can win an individual stage from those who can manage an entire classification.
An additional dimension to her victory is given by the fact that Cyclingnews had reported the previous day on the theft of her racing bicycle after the first stage in Santa Susanna. According to the post cited by that outlet, UAE Team ADQ asked the public for help in finding the distinctive Colnago Y1Rs in the team’s colors, and the incident was reported to the Spanish authorities. Such an event could have disrupted preparation and focus before the most important stage, but the result in La Molina shows that the sporting plan did not lose continuity. In professional cycling, where the details of equipment, routine, and recovery often carry great importance, such a victory further emphasizes the stability of the rider and the team. Nevertheless, the sporting value of the stage remains in the foreground: Blasi won because she was the strongest on the climb, not because the circumstances gave the story a more dramatic frame.
What the victory means for the final day
After the second stage, Blasi enters the finale with an advantage that allows her a more defensive, but not passive, strategy. According to the race calendar and schedule cited by the organizer and Cyclingnews, the third stage is ridden on June 21, 2026, from Mataró to Barcelona, and ProCyclingStats had noted before the start that the official results of the final stage were not yet available. This means that, at the moment of the available data, the classification after La Molina remains the key reference point for analyzing the race. In such a situation, Blasi would have to follow the attacks of her closest rivals, especially Gery and Swierenga, and avoid technical problems, crashes, or tactical isolation in the finale. On the other hand, the teams that are behind must decide whether to defend podium places or take risks with long-range attacks in order to try to change the top of the classification.
An advantage of 1:24 over Gery and 1:42 over Swierenga is not absolutely unreachable, but in a three-day race it is very significant, especially after the hardest mountain day has already been completed. In practice, this means that Blasi could allow part of the initiative to pass to teams seeking a stage victory, while UAE Team ADQ controls the most dangerous attacks. In such a scenario, bonus seconds, positioning in technical sections of the route, and the team’s ability to keep the leading rider in a safe part of the group may play an important role. The result of the second stage therefore changed the dynamics of the race: Blasi is no longer only a favorite on paper, but the leading rider whom the others must attack. After the solo victory in La Molina, the pressure has shifted to the competition.
Results of stage 2 and the top of the general classification
- Stage 2, Sant Vicenç de Castellet – La Molina, 130 km: 1. Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ) 4:03:19; 2. Célia Gery (FDJ United-SUEZ) +1:20; 3. Sidney Swierenga (Liv AlUla Jayco Women’s Continental Team) +1:36; 4. Évita Muzic (FDJ United-SUEZ) +2:26; 5. Mireia Benito (AG Insurance-Soudal Team) +2:26.
- General classification after stage 2: 1. Paula Blasi; 2. Célia Gery +1:24; 3. Sidney Swierenga +1:42; 4. Évita Muzic +2:34; 5. Mireia Benito +2:36.
Sources:
- Cyclingnews – report from stage 2 of the Volta a Catalunya Femenina 2026, description of Blasi’s attack, statements, and podium classification (link)
- ProCyclingStats – official results overview of stage 2, times, gaps, route data, and summary of the day (link)
- Volta Ciclista a Catalunya Femenina – official description of stage 2, route, climbs, and race schedule (link)
- Union Cycliste Internationale – calendar entry for the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya Femenina 2026 and race category (link)
- Cyclingnews – report on the theft of Paula Blasi’s bicycle after stage 1 and UAE Team ADQ’s response (link)
- The-Sports.org – overview of results and the general classification after stage 2 of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya Femenina 2026 (link)