Leading Spanish Nationals favourite Paula Blasi will not be taking part in Saturday's road race because of injuries incurred in a training crash earlier this week.
Blasi has enjoyed a runaway series of breakthrough successes this year, with victories in La Vuelta Feménina, Amstel Gold and most recently the Volta a Catalunya propelling the 23-year-old into second place in the UCI World rankings behind Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ).
However, the UAE Team ADQ co-leader had a bad crash when training on the TT route in Sabiñanigo, north-east Spain on Thursday. She later told AS she had fallen on a gravel sector and that the impact had been so hard she had been unable to breathe well for several seconds.
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Blasi spent more than six hours in various medical centres, including a hospital, getting stitches and with severe rib pain from where her race radio had impacted her body. That did not stop her taking part in the time trial, finishing fourth.
Further checkups have seen her opt to pull out of the National road race, and she will soon begin training at altitude in Andorra for her debut in the Tour de France, which starts on August 1. First though, will come recovery from her heavy crash.
"Due to the crash I had in Wednesday's recons, the pain in my ribs has got so bad that I can barely move," she wrote on social media on Friday. "Together with the team, we've decided it's best to to try and rest, have a full medical checkup and recover."
"Good luck to all the riders tomorrow, particularly my teammates [five-times National Champion] Mavi García and Celia Torres."
Blasi has also made the headlines this weekend regarding a possible transfer for 2027, with Wielerflits citing multiple sources as telling them that Blasi will use an opt-out clause with UAE to switch to Spanish WorldTour team Movistar.
Wielerflits have claimed that the yet-to-be-confirmed new contract would see Blasi earning just under a million euros a year.
