Tour de Romandie Féminin: Paula Blasi wins prologue as dispute over trackers overshadows race

Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ) blasted to a breakthrough victory in the 4.4km hilly prologue of the Tour de Romandie Féminin, although her success was almost completely overshadowed by a major dispute that erupted earlier that day between various top teams on the race and the UCI, leading to their expulsion.

The 22-year-old completed the course in 11:17 to record her first WorldTour victory in her first professional season.

Blasi held off the challenge of Urška Žigart (AG Insurance-Soudal) and Juliette Labous (FDJ-SUEZ), who finished second and third, 17 and 18 seconds down, respectively.

The shape of the race had already shifted before the first rider rolled down the ramp in Huémoz, as five major teams were disqualified after they refused to take part in a UCI test of GPS safety tracking technology.

Race favourites such as Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney of Canyon-SRAM-zondacrypto and Lidl-Trek’s Niamh Fisher-Black did not take to the start. The three other squads who are out of the race are EF Education-Oatly, Picnic-PostNL and Team Visma-Lease a Bike.

The absence of the quintet of disqualified squads blew the race open. Blasi took full advantage to take the biggest win of her young career and move into the yellow jersey. The Spanish rider moved into road cycling late after a junior career as a runner and duathlete and surprised even herself with the result.

"I was not expecting to be up there," Blasi said in the TV interview after the finish.
"I knew I was in good shape, I come from altitude [camp], but for sure my main goal is preparing for l’Avenir, so I still have some days. Tour of Romandie was kind of let's see how I start, and of course, I always go full gas, but I didn't expect this.

"I was really looking for the white jersey, the young one, because I thought it was the more accessible one and the one I could be more close to, but then when I arrived to the finish line and they said - 'No, no, you actually have to have the best time.'

"I was like, well, OK, let's sit down and wait, but I didn't believe it until the last one crossed the finish line."

When asked about the situation with the other teams dropping out of the race, Blasi had mixed emotions; grateful for a better opportunity to win, while also wanting to race against the best possible opposition.

"It's a bit sad, it's a bit of a pity, because of course we always want the biggest competitors, so there is more to watch and more ambition.

"On the other hand, it's also good for us, because maybe the level will not be as high, so we can play a little bit more. But we always want the best in the race, so it's a little bit sad that we don't have these big teams in the race.”

How it unfolded

With five teams out of the race due to their refusal to take part in the UCI’s GPS tracking test, there was a significant element of the unknown heading into the first of three days of racing through the French-speaking region of Switzerland. Furthermore, hilly prologues are a regular feature in the men’s Tour de Romandie, but it was only in its fourth edition that the Tour de Romandie Féminin peloton took on a short, sharp individual test in its opening stage for the first time. With much of the stage on gradients above 10%, this would certainly be a day for the climbers.

SD Worx-ProTime’s Mikayla Harvey set the first time under the 12-minute mark early on in the day, but was soon pipped by less than two seconds by youngster Alena Ivanchencko (UAE Team ADQ). Both would go on to finish the stage in the top 10.

The more recognised climbing talent started later on in the stage. Ivanchencko’s team-mate Erica Magnaldi edged ahead before being beaten by Žigart, who finished in 11:34 as the GC favourites began to threaten. The only former Romandie champion on the start-list, Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (AG Insurance-Soudal), who won the first edition in 2022, was off the pace of the best, finishing almost a minute behind Blasi.

Blasi continued her excellent run in her first WorldTour season by eclipsing Žigart by 17 seconds, finishing in a time of 11:17 and leading as the likes of team-mate Silvia Persico, Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck), and Mavi Garcia (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) attacked the 4.4km course. Persico may have come into the race as the team’s leader on paper, but she was well short of the mark set by her young teammate.

Blasi is a winner of three UCI races this year and was fourth overall at the 2024 Tour de l’Avenir Femmes, and she looked set to record a breakthrough result in Villars-sur-Ollon. Kastelijn was closer, but faded in the closing stages to finish 25 seconds shy, in third as it stood. García was over a minute down before Elise Chabbey (FDJ-SUEZ) climbed into the top 10 on the stage.

Just two riders remained to topple Blasi: Mischa Bredewold (SD Worx-ProTime) and Juliette Labous (FDJ-SUEZ).

Labous was tipped as the main favourite after the drop-outs. She looked powerful as she took on the stage’s steepest sections in a solid, seated style, only occasionally getting out of the saddle to squeeze the power out of her legs.

Bredewold was less suited to the tougher parts, but would look to take advantage of the flatter final third of the parcours. However, the climbing section had taken its toll on the Dutch champion. She crossed the line almost a minute down, just inside the top 20. It was a strong ride by Labous, but she wasn’t able to do enough to dethrone Blasi, who took the biggest victory of her young career, with Labous taking the final step on the podium.

Blasi, clearly delighted by her triumph, fist-pumped the air in the leader’s hot seat and will go into the first road stage of the 2025 Tour de Romandie Féminin in the yellow jersey.

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