The enduring Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) secured her first victory of 2026, sprinting to the win on the final stage of the Volta a Catalunya Feminas as Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ) sealed the overall title in Barcelona.
It was a sprint finish in the Catalan capital, with Nienke Veenhoven deftly leading out Vos before finishing second herself, reversing the 1-2 victory that Visma achieved on stage 1, won by Veenhoven.
Nicole Steigenga (AG Insurance-Soudal) rounded out the stage top three, sprinting just ahead of Ally Wollaston (FDJ United-Suez).
Blasi, who triumphed solo in the mountains on stage 2, finished safely in the bunch to confirm the overall win, the first title for a Catalan rider in this race since 2014.
"These roads we just rode today, they're next to my mum's place, so I used to train there when I was at my mum's house, so it's even more special. These are the roads I started cycling on, now I'm racing there," Blasi said.
"It's even more special, and I look around and it's just amazing, all the people that are here."
The final podium reflects the top three from stage 2, with Célia Gery (FDJ United-Suez) finishing second overall at 1:20, with Canada's Sidney Swierenga, who is still only on Liv AlUla Jayco's development team, finishing third overall.
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Blasi celebrates her victory (Image credit: Getty Images)
The final stage of the women's Volta a Catalunya started with a climb, the 3.1km Coll de Parpers and then had a lumpy run through the Catalonian hills, but dipped back down towards Barcelona for a flatter finish in the city, though there was a rise near the line.
It took a while for a break to get away, but after 40km four riders did strike out in front: Paula Ostiz (Movistar), Ode Aune Gissinger (Hitec Products-Fluid Control), Isabella Bertold (Torelli) and Natalie Revelo (WCC Team). They built a decent gap, but the peloton weren't letting them get too far away, and they went into the final 35km with a minute and a half lead.
Bertold was the first to be dropped, as FDJ United-Suez and UAE Team ADQ controlled the peloton and slowly reeled the leaders in. Ostiz was keen to try and stay away as long as possible, and her and Gissinger did go a long way, but they were caught with 4km to go to give way to the sprint.
The wide city highways on the run-in to the finish made for a tense finale with bridges and tunnels and it was a super fast sprint. Cofidis led it out early for Valentine Fortin, but then Visma-Lease a Bike took over and delivered Vos to the win with ease, as Veenhoven finished second to repeat – in reverse – their 1-2 on the opening day.
Sunday was only Vos' eighth race day of 2026, and her first win, after a tumultuous start to the year, but she is finally back to winning ways.
For Blasi, this marks her third GC victory in what has been a revelatory season, adding to her titles at the Vuelta Femenina and Tour des Pyrénées, plus her big Classics victory at Amstel Gold Race.
"Now I'm focusing on Nationals in a couple of days," Blasi said of her next plans. "Then hopefully I can have some easy days, and then full focus on Tour [de France Femmes] in one month, and from there we will see."
Matilda is an NCTJ-qualified journalist based in the UK who joined Cyclingnews in March 2025. Prior to that, she worked as the Racing News Editor at GCN, and extensively as a freelancer contributing to Cyclingnews, Cycling Weekly, Velo, Rouleur, Escape Collective, Red Bull and more. She has reported on the ground at all of the biggest events on the calendar, including the men's and women's Tours de France, the Giro d'Italia, the Vuelta a Espana, the Spring Classics and the World Championships. She has particular experience and expertise in women's cycling, and women's sport in general. She is a graduate of modern languages and sports journalism.
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