MADRID, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Spanish rider Paula Blasi (UAE-Team ADQ) was crowned as the overall winner of the Vuelta a Espana Femenina (Women's Tour of Spain) cycle race on Saturday.

Blasi finished 24 seconds ahead of Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) in the overall standings, with Marion Bunel (Visma-Lease a Bike) third.

What makes the 23-year-old's win so impressive is that Blasi only began dedicating herself solely to cycling in February 2024, switching from duathlon after an injury stopped her from running.

Blasi confirmed her breakout season in April when she won the Amstel Gold Race after a solo attack, and she finished second on Friday's sixth stage of the seven-stage. She then produced a brilliant ride to finish second up the legendary L'Angliru climb, which was enough to give her the overall prize.

"I wasn't feeling my best, but my team did an amazing job. I knew the climb would be 50 minutes long, and with five minutes left, I thought I couldn't go any further, but I just told myself to keep going and when I saw Van der Breggen struggling, I just went for it."

"If someone had told me two weeks ago that I'd win the Vuelta, I'd have said they were joking," said Blasi after the stage.

The mountain, which was being ridden for the first time in the Vuelta Femenina, is considered by many to be the toughest climb in professional cycling, with a distance of 13 kilometers and an average gradient of 9.7 percent, but with sections that are much harder.

L'Angliru contains a two-kilometer section between the ninth and 11th kilometers with an average gradient at a leg-breaking 17 percent, with sections of up to 23 percent, and it was here that Blasi launched her attack.

Van der Breggen had gone into the final stage with an 18-second lead over Blasi, but was unable to stay with her despite using a mountain-bike gear setup on her bike to try to close with the relentless slopes.

Petra Stiasny (Human Powered Health) was the only rider able to stay with Blasi, and the Swiss rider then overtook Blasi to have the honor of being the first woman to ever win on L'Angliru, while the Spaniard took the overall prize.

"When I heard that L'Angliru was going to be in the Vuelta, it was all I could think about, winning here was my dream. This is my climb and I feel free here," said Stiasny after the stage.

Van der Breggen recovered in the last kilometers to finish fifth on the stage and assure second overall, while the young French rider Marion Bunel was third overall and also took the jersey for the best young rider. ■