Even “golden” Blasi did not expect to win Amstel Gold Race: “Five minutes before my attack, I had been dropped”

Blasi stood in disbelief in front of the microphone after her fabulous victory. “I need a few weeks, maybe even months, to realise it,” she said in the flash interview. Around 25 kilometres from the finish, she slipped away with an acceleration from Nienke Vinke of SD Worx-Protime, before dropping her on the penultimate passage of the Cauberg.

She did not even know how far it still was to the finish at that point. “When I was alone and crossed the line, I actually didn’t even know how many kilometres I still had to ride. I thought: I hope it’s only five more. But then I was told I still had 22 kilometres to go. I knew it was going to be a hard day out front.”

The first part of the race had not gone to plan at all for the eventual winner. “Five minutes before I attacked, I had been dropped. I came back, and I thought: let’s just try. Suddenly, I found myself at the front. I was dropped, came back, dropped, came back... At some point I thought: let’s sit at the front, because then you don’t have to fight for position.”

Her lack of experience almost caught up with her, but her fighting spirit ultimately made the difference. “I don’t know how I did it. From the start of the race, I told the team I was struggling with positioning, because it was my first race in the Ardennes. I was nervous, and it was very different from anything I had done before. It was hard to stay at the front, that is the most important thing.”

Once she was alone, the impressive Blasi only extended her advantage over the chasers. She started the final ascent of the Cauberg with a one-minute lead, and she did not let the victory slip away. Kasia Niewiadoma and Demi Vollering came too late: they finished second and third, 27 seconds behind the Spanish rider, who had long since been able to celebrate.

Blasi’s story, which even included her almost missing a corner along the way, is all the more special. “I wasn’t even supposed to be here, I only came onto the start list yesterday,” the 23-year-old laughed. “We’ve had some illness and injuries, so it wasn’t in my head that I would be racing here. Now I just need to catch my breath and accept what has happened.”