Paula Blasi is the new European champion in the under-23 women's category. The 22-year-old Spaniard was the strongest on the climbing course in the French regions of Ardèche and Drôme. In the final kilometers, she broke away from three fellow attackers. The silver went to Eleonora Ciabocca (Picnic PostNL), and the bronze to Juli Bego. Viktória Chladoňová – rider for Visma | Lease a Bike – just missed out on the podium.
Without Marie Schreiber and Margaretha Anna Hansen, the under-23 women's peloton started an 85-kilometer race. With climbs over the Saint Romain de Lerps (7 km at 7%) and no less than four ascents of the Val d’Enfer (1.5 km at 10.2%), there were plenty of selective sections to make a difference. The top of the last ascent of the Val d’Enfer was less than six kilometers from the finish.
Duo attack
After twenty kilometers of racing, the peloton was still grouped without an early breakaway. On the second climb of the Val d’Enfer, German rider Linda Riedmann and Frenchwoman Solène Muller launched an attack. On the long ascent of Saint Romain de Lerps that followed, the attacking duo held firm. They maintained a slim lead of just under forty seconds over a large chasing group.
Linda Riedmann - photo: fotopersburo Cor Vos
Twenty kilometers from the finish, Visma | Lease a Bike rider Riedmann dropped her French breakaway companion. With one 17-kilometer lap to go, the German had a lead of one minute and fifteen seconds. That seemed enough for the European title, which she had already won at junior level in 2021. Starting the final ten kilometers with a buffer of over a minute, there was still one last ascent of the Val d’Enfer.
Fading within sight of the harbor
There, Riedmann then cracked, while behind her the race exploded. Four riders caught up with her at the top: Bego, Blasi, Chladoňová and Ciabocca. They soon left the German behind and looked set to battle for the title. Until the moment the Spaniard launched a blistering attack two kilometers from the finish. The other three had no answer, after which Blasi claimed the gold.
The Spaniard from Team UAE ADQ also took bronze at the World Championships last weekend and was considered the revelation of the season. In the summer, she also impressively finished sixth at the Tour de l'Avenir. Blasi succeeds Dutch sprinter Sofie van Rooijen as champion. Maud Oudeman was the best Dutch rider in sixth place; four other under-23 women also finished in the top 20. Lore De Schepper finished just behind Oudeman in seventh place for Belgium.
The Belgian and Dutch U23 riders finished in the lower part of the top-10 - photo: Cor Vos
UEC Road European Championships U23| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 02:30:28 | |
| 2 | + 09 | |
| 3 | " | |
| 4 | " | |
| 5 | + 25 | |
| 6 | + 26 | |
| 7 | + 45 | |
| 8 | + 54 | |
| 9 | " | |
| 10 | + 58 |
