The 78th edition of the Gran Premio della Liberazione Donne delivered a commanding display from UAE Team ADQ, culminating in Paula Blasi’s first professional victory after a long-range solo move in the final laps. On a warm morning in Rome, 104 riders tackled 16 laps of the 6km Terme di Caracalla circuit, a course known for its relentless undulations, technical corners, and a gradual attritional effect on the peloton.
From the drop of the flag at 9am, the race was animated by high tempo and repeated testing efforts from the bigger teams. UAE Team ADQ quickly imposed themselves on the front, forcing a selection and whittling down the bunch lap after lap. Just 53 riders would finish the race, with each lap reducing the size of the peloton.
The decisive move came around the halfway point, just after 30 kilometres raced, when Paula Blasi launched clear with Silvia Milesi of BePink. Their initial advantage hovered around 15–20 seconds as the bunch remained hesitant, not yet fully committing to a chase. UAE’s numbers in the bunch meant they were under no pressure to close the move, while behind, Fount Cycling Guild and Aromitalia-Vaiano worked sporadically to keep the leaders in check.
As the laps ticked down, it became clear the gap was not coming down. With two and a half laps to go, Blasi made her move, attacking hard and dropping Milesi on one of the circuit’s dragging rises. From there, the 22-year-old Spaniard went solo, managing her effort expertly through the final 15 kilometres and carving out a lead of just over a minute by the finish.
Milesi battled on to retain second place, while the reduced bunch behind eventually re-organised for a sprint. UAE Team ADQ’s dominance continued as Sofia Bertizzolo led home the peloton for third, followed closely by teammate Eilidh Shaw in fourth. Rasa Leleivyte of Aromitalia Vaiano rounded out the top five, with Ireland’s Mia Griffin placing ninth after a strong ride in the chasing group.
Post-race reactions: Blasi, Bertizzolo and Milesi reflect on the day
For Paula Blasi, the win marked the first major result of her pro career, and it came after a last-minute call-up to the race.
“It was a crazy race. We were going really fast all day. It was still a very hard and tiring race. I wasn’t even supposed to be in this race and then at the last minute the team called me. The team’s plan was to make the race hard from the halfway point onwards, trying to take away a breakaway. I was the first to try and together with another athlete we managed to gain ground. I felt really good, I was confident, I knew I had a strong team behind me that would respond to any attack attempt and I followed the advice of my sports director Davide Gani and I managed to get this win. It’s my first win of the year, my first win with the UAE Team ADQ jersey, my first win as a professional athlete and I really have no words to describe what happened, maybe I still don’t fully understand it, but I’m very happy.”
Bertizzolo, who controlled the chase behind and led home the sprint for third, praised her younger teammates:
“It was a great race, very fast. The first attack was immediately successful with Paula who was really good. Behind us we controlled and in the end we set up the sprint in the best way. All the young girls of the Development Team were very good and in particular Eilidh Shaw did a great job that allowed us to obtain these other two placings.”
Silvia Milesi, who shared the breakaway with Blasi before being dropped, was proud of her ride despite being distanced in the final laps.
“I had trained very well in the past weeks, but this 2nd place is really unexpected and I am thrilled! I managed to enter an attempt together with three athletes from UAE and then follow Paula when she pulled away. I enjoyed every moment in the midst of a spectacular setting and beautiful cheering.”
2025 GP della Liberazione PINK result
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Main photo credit: Flaviano Ossola
