Paula Blasi won La Vuelta Femenina 2026 after a dramatic final-stage turnaround on the Angliru, becoming the first Spanish rider to win the race in its current format. The UAE Team ADQ rider started the final day 18 seconds behind Anna van der Breggen, but attacked on the steepest ramps of the final climb and did enough to take the red jersey on the last afternoon of the race.
Petra Stiasny won Stage 7 on the Angliru after catching and passing Blasi in the closing kilometres, taking the biggest victory of her career for Human Powered Health. Blasi finished 2nd on the stage, 23 seconds behind Stiasny, but the time she gained on Van der Breggen was enough to seal overall victory. Juliette Berthet finished 3rd on the stage, with Marion Bunel 4th and Van der Breggen 5th.
The final general classification ended with Blasi winning in 22:17:03. Van der Breggen finished 2nd overall at 24 seconds, while Bunel completed the podium at 49 seconds and also won the white jersey. Usoa Ostolaza climbed to 4th overall, Berthet finished 5th, and Urška Žigart, Monica Trinca Colonel, Kasia Niewiadoma, Barbara Malcotti and Évita Muzic completed the top 10.
For the full race route context, our La Vuelta Femenina 2026 full route guide explains how the race built towards the final two summit finishes at Les Praeres and the Angliru.
Photo Credit: Naike ErenozagaHow Paula Blasi won La Vuelta Femenina 2026
Blasi’s overall victory came from patience, climbing strength and a perfectly timed final-stage response. She had already shown her condition on Stage 6 to Les Praeres, where she finished 2nd behind Van der Breggen and limited the damage to eight seconds on the road. That ride kept her within 18 seconds of red before the Angliru, which proved decisive.
On the final climb, Van der Breggen began to struggle as the gradients pushed above 20 per cent. Bunel initially applied pressure, Stiasny and Gaia Realini also helped shred the front group, and Blasi sensed the opening when the overnight race leader began to fade. Once she moved clear, the overall race shifted almost immediately.
Stiasny eventually rode across to Blasi and went past to win the stage, but Blasi’s priority had already changed. The stage win was within reach for a while, but the red jersey was the bigger prize. By the finish, she had gained enough time to win the overall by 24 seconds.
It was a striking result because the race had looked under SD Worx-Protime control for much of the week. Lotte Kopecky had led after Stage 4 and Stage 5, Van der Breggen then took red on Les Praeres, but Blasi produced the strongest final climb when the race reached its hardest point.
Final general classification top 10
- Paula Blasi, UAE Team ADQ, 22:17:03
- Anna van der Breggen, SD Worx-Protime, +24
- Marion Bunel, Team Visma | Lease a Bike, +49
- Usoa Ostolaza, Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi, +2:31
- Juliette Berthet, FDJ-Suez, +2:36
- Urška Žigart, AG Insurance-Soudal, +2:43
- Monica Trinca Colonel, Liv AlUla Jayco, +2:51
- Kasia Niewiadoma, Canyon SRAM zondacrypto, +3:06
- Barbara Malcotti, Human Powered Health, +3:50
- Évita Muzic, FDJ-Suez, +3:55
Photo Credit: Naike ErenozagaRed jersey: Paula Blasi
Blasi’s red jersey win was built around the final two mountain stages. She had stayed close enough through the opening five days, then moved fully into contention on Les Praeres before finishing the job on the Angliru.
That made her victory feel like a proper mountain-race win rather than a classification built on bonus seconds. The opening half of La Vuelta Femenina had been shaped by sprint finishes, late attacks and crashes, but the final weekend belonged to the climbers. Blasi handled that change better than anyone.
Her win also gives UAE Team ADQ one of their biggest results in a women’s stage race. The team had already been prominent across the classifications, but Blasi’s final-stage ride turned consistency into the overall title.
Photo Credit: Toni BaixauliGreen jersey: Lotte Kopecky
Lotte Kopecky won the points classification after dominating the opening half of the race. She finished 2nd on Stage 1, was central to the Stage 2 sprint, finished 2nd again on Stage 3, won Stage 4, and then finished 2nd on Stage 5 behind teammate Mischa Bredewold.
The mountains ended her GC challenge, but they did not erase the work she had already done in green. Kopecky had built such a strong points platform through the first five stages that she could survive the final climbing block and still finish as the winner of the points competition.
It was a reminder of how complete her race had been before Les Praeres. She did not win the overall, but she shaped the first half of La Vuelta Femenina more than any other rider.
Photo Credit: Toni BaixauliMountains jersey: Paula Blasi
Blasi also won the mountains classification, completing a powerful final weekend. Van der Breggen had moved into the lead of the competition after winning Stage 6, but the Angliru changed that picture again.
The final climb carried enough weight to transform the standings, and Blasi’s 2nd place on the stage brought her the mountains jersey as well as the red jersey. It was a fitting outcome for a race ultimately decided by the steepest climbs.
Earlier in the week, riders such as Maëva Squiban, Ashleigh Moolman Pasio, Marine Allione and Alice Coutinho had all played roles in the mountains competition. By the end, though, the jersey belonged to the rider who had climbed best across the decisive weekend.
Photo Credit: Toni BaixauliWhite jersey: Marion Bunel
Marion Bunel won the young rider classification and finished 3rd overall, completing one of the strongest performances of the race. Her 3rd place on Stage 6 to Les Praeres moved her onto the overall podium, and she defended that position on the Angliru with a 4th place finish on the stage.
For Team Visma | Lease a Bike, Bunel’s podium and white jersey gave the race a clear success after the earlier loss of Marianne Vos. The team had several climbing options going into the final weekend, but Bunel emerged as the strongest of them when the race became a pure mountain contest.
Her performance also changed the shape of the young rider classification completely. Gaia Segato had led white after Stage 5, while Lore De Schepper had been prominent earlier in the race. Once the road reached Les Praeres and the Angliru, Bunel took control through climbing strength rather than countback or positioning.
Team classification: SD Worx-Protime
SD Worx-Protime won the team classification after controlling much of the race and placing riders high across several stages. Their overall victory bid fell short after Van der Breggen lost red on the Angliru, but the team still finished with major success.
Kopecky won Stage 4 and the points jersey, Bredewold won Stage 5, Van der Breggen won Stage 6 and finished 2nd overall, and the team also finished top of the team standings. That is still a strong return, even if the final climb denied them the red jersey.
The week also underlined the depth of the squad. They were able to dominate reduced sprints, control rolling stages and then remain central once the race turned mountainous. Blasi took the overall, but SD Worx-Protime remained the most consistently influential team of the race.
Stage winners at La Vuelta Femenina 2026
Noemi Rüegg opened the race with victory on Stage 1 before later leaving the race after a crash. Shari Bossuyt won Stage 2, then Cédrine Kerbaol revived EF Education-Oatly’s race with a late attack to win Stage 3 in A Coruña.
Kopecky won Stage 4 in Antas de Ulla, while Bredewold led another SD Worx-Protime one-two on Stage 5 in Astorga. Van der Breggen then took the first summit finish on Les Praeres, before Stiasny won the final stage on the Angliru.
That spread of winners tells the story of the race well. The first half rewarded sprinters, puncheurs and riders who could handle chaotic finishes. The final weekend belonged to climbers, with Les Praeres and the Angliru deciding the overall race.
What the final standings tell us
La Vuelta Femenina 2026 ultimately became the mountain race the route had promised. The opening five stages created drama, crashes and repeated jersey changes, but the final classification was decided by Les Praeres and the Angliru.
Blasi was the rider who managed that transition best. She was close enough before the mountains, strong enough on Les Praeres and brave enough on the Angliru. Van der Breggen looked to have seized the race on Stage 6, but the final climb proved that the race was still open.
Bunel’s podium and white jersey were also among the defining stories of the week. Ostolaza’s 4th place gave Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi a major result, while Berthet, Žigart, Trinca Colonel, Niewiadoma, Malcotti and Muzic all finished inside a top 10 shaped by the brutal final weekend.
The race also showed how quickly La Vuelta Femenina can change. Kopecky had been the dominant rider through the first half, Van der Breggen looked in control after Stage 6, and Blasi ended the week in red. That volatility is exactly what the Angliru was expected to create.
For more on the final-day route, our La Vuelta Femenina 2026 stage 7 preview looked ahead to the decisive climb, while our GC and jerseys after La Vuelta Femenina 2026 stage 6 tracked the race situation before the final showdown.
La Vuelta Femenina 2026 final jersey winners
- Red jersey: Paula Blasi, UAE Team ADQ
- Green jersey: Lotte Kopecky, SD Worx-Protime
- Mountains jersey: Paula Blasi, UAE Team ADQ
- White jersey: Marion Bunel, Team Visma | Lease a Bike
- Team classification: SD Worx-Protime
La Vuelta Femenina 2026 Result
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