The Tour de Romandie Féminin opened with a short, sharp shock in the Vaud Alps and a new Women’s WorldTour winner. Over 4.4 km from Huémoz to Villars-sur-Ollon, Paula Blasi paced the hilly prologue to perfection, stopping the clock in 11:17 to claim her first WorldTour victory. Urška Žigart finished second at +17s, Juliette Labous third at +18s.
The course wasted little time in biting. Riders rolled down the ramp in Huémoz and were immediately wrestling with ramps in double digits. Time was always going to vanish on the middle section where the gradients kicked hardest, before a flatter final third offered a chance to squeeze speed back out of tired legs.
Early on, Mikayla Harvey laid down a proper marker as the first to duck under 12 minutes. It did not last long. Alena Ivanchenko prised the benchmark lower by less than two seconds, a sign that the road would reward those who could suffer through the steep middle and keep something for the run-in to Villars. Both early leaders would be rewarded with top-10s by day’s end.
Žigart raises the bar before Blasi strikes
As heavier hitters filtered onto the climb, UAE Team ADQ showed their hand. Erica Magnaldi edged to the top of the timing board, only for Žigart to reset expectations with 11:34 – the first effort that looked podium-proof. The Slovenian kept a high, even tempo where the slope pitched above 10%, then spun out the flatter upper section to bank time on rivals who had over-reached early.
Former Romandie winner Ashleigh Moolman Pasio could not match the new reference, finishing almost a minute back and underlining how unforgiving the profile was for anyone who mistimed their effort. Moments later, Blasi arrived and changed the complexion of the day. Fresh from altitude camp and in her first season at this level, the 22-year-old rode the mid-section with restraint, then turned the screw in the final third to eclipse Žigart by 17 seconds. Her 11:17 stood up to everything that followed.
Big names unable to dislodge the leader
There were still threats to come. Yara Kastelijn looked on course at one split but faded late, crossing at +25s. Silvia Persico, on paper a leading option for UAE Team ADQ, could not live with her team-mate’s time. Elise Chabbey, racing on familiar Swiss roads, squeezed into the top 10 with a neat, controlled ride that kept the damage limited for the GC fight to come.
Two big final checks remained. Mischa Bredewold battled the steep section but paid for it near the top, rolling in just inside the top 20 at close to a minute down. Labous, widely tipped after the morning’s scratches, looked rock-solid on the steepest pitches with a mostly seated style and only occasional accelerations out of the saddle. She was fast, just not fast enough to dislodge Blasi, finishing 18 seconds short and nudging Kastelijn off the provisional podium.
A career milestone for Blasi
Blasi’s reaction blended disbelief and delight. “I was not expecting to be up there,” she said. “I knew I was in good shape, I come from altitude, but for sure my main goal is preparing for l’Avenir. I was really looking for the white jersey, the young one, because I thought it was the more accessible one. Then when I arrived to the finish line they said I actually had the best time. I didn’t believe it until the last one crossed the finish line.”
By the time the final rider finished, the result was beyond argument. Blasi had judged the climb better than anyone, built her lead where the road allowed, and defended it when it turned cruel again. She pulls on the yellow jersey for stage 1, with Žigart and Labous closest on the watch and a shuffled GC picture heading into the mountains.
Rider tracking debate sees 5 teams not take start
Five major teams – Canyon SRAM zondacrypto, EF Education-Oatly, Lidl-Trek, Team Picnic PostNL and Team Visma | Lease a Bike – were absent from the start after a dispute with the UCI over GPS safety trackers. Brought in under the SafeR project following the death of Muriel Furrer at last year’s World Championships, the devices were to be trialled in Romandie ahead of a full rollout in Kigali next month. Race rules required each team to nominate one rider to carry the unit for all three stages, but the teams declined to single out a rider, citing fairness, liability, and a lack of consultation. When they refused to nominate anyone, they were excluded, removing several top riders from contention and changing the complexion of the race before it began.
2025 Tour de Romandie Féminin Stage 1 result
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