Two years ago, she only knew of the Tour de France and Pogačar. On Sunday, Paula Blasi won Amstel Gold Race

She was not even supposed to be there. Paula Blasi was due to be at a training camp in Spain when UAE Team ADQ's injury list forced a rethink. A late call-up, a last-minute change of plan, a YouTube crash course in race tactics — and a win at one of the biggest one-day races on the women's calendar.

The 23-year-old Spaniard crossed the line in Valkenburg on Sunday ahead of Kasia Niewiadoma and Demi Vollering, catching out the favourites with a bold solo attack and the kind of sustained power that left no doubt about who deserved to win.

Blasi, Swinkels and sporting director Michel Cornelisse all spoke to IDL Pro Cycling after the race.

"Honestly, I didn't think about winning — I was dropped quite early and thought the race was already over for me at that point. Marianne Vos was there too and I asked her what we should do, but she told me to just keep riding."

When Blasi got back up to the front, she decided to attack. "For me, it's better to ride one steady pace than full gas, stop, full gas, stop. And I knew I still had strong teammates behind me."

The late call-up very nearly didn't happen. "I wasn't even supposed to race here at all, and I need to thank my team for convincing me to start — normally I'm not someone who handles changes very well. Last-minute changes especially, that was a real challenge for me. But I never felt any pressure from the team."

Her relationship with cycling is, by any measure, extraordinary. "I'd never heard of the Amstel Gold Race before. Until two years ago I did triathlon, and all I knew about cycling was the Tour de France and Tadej Pogacar. I still have to study the races sometimes — the Amstel wasn't originally on my programme. But Michel has taught me a lot as a sporting director."

On the prediction from Cornelisse that she could be world champion within five years: "Dreaming is free, no?"

"Paula is a very good person. She's very young and still has a lot to learn. She really shouldn't have started here — we had a lot of injured riders. She was supposed to go to a training camp in Spain, but fortunately we managed to talk her out of it."

"Did she win by surprise? More by riding extremely hard. Franziska Koch was chasing and had to let go too. She's simply a supertalent."

Cornelisse was not shy about predicting a bright future. "I've said some stupid things before, but I think she could be world champion within five years." — to which Blasi interjected with her "dreaming is free" remark — "She's impressive on the climbs, but because of her limited experience and tactical knowledge she doesn't always win yet. She also hadn't done any reconnaissance of the course because she only found out she was racing so late."

"I told her: go on YouTube and watch some previous editions. She just hadn't seen one particular corner." He laughed. "One corner."

Karlijn Swinkels, who finished in the Amstel Gold Race top ten herself, was full of praise for her teammate — and had read the race correctly when it mattered.

"We only started with five riders. In the previous races we kept making it into the finale together but couldn't finish the job. This time we tried to race as aggressively as possible, and we were in everything — so this was perfect."

"What's beautiful about the Amstel Gold Race is that it's so predictable, but you don't win here without good legs either. In the finale Paula had such a big lead that she could enjoy it a bit, which was lovely."

Swinkels admitted she had clocked the danger early. "When she attacked, I could see that everyone was thinking: let her go for a moment. But I thought: that's dangerous — Paula riding free. If you give her ten metres, you know it's going to be difficult. She's a bit like Marlen Reusser" — the Swiss time trial specialist renowned for her relentless pace — "she just keeps going. She's a true winner, someone who needs to be held back rather than spurred on. An enormous talent."

"Underestimated? Apparently. But winning the Amstel Gold Race is going to make the races ahead harder for her. She's one of the biggest talents out there. For the outside world she might still be unknown, but we already knew she had tremendous power."