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Follow us on GoogleFollowing her victory at the World Championships, Demi Vollering heads into the European Cycling Championships in Slovenia as the top favourite. The Dutch rider is eager to defend her title, but just like in Canada, the competition is fierce. However, she won’t face Paula Blasi, who has had to pull out of the competition at the last minute.
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Blasi has been the breakout star of women’s cycling this year. She pulled off a surprise victory at the Amstel Gold Race, but then proved it was no fluke.
The Spaniard went on to win the Vuelta Femenina, the Tour Féminin Pyrenées, and the Tour of Catalonia. After these resounding successes, she finished fifth in the Tour de France Femmes.
Blasi's World Championships ended in injury
At the World Championships in Montreal, a year after winning a bronze medal in the U23 category, she was one of the dark horses in the race for the rainbow jersey.
It didn’t quite come to that in the end: she was involved in a serious crash about 95 kilometres from the finish. The crash affected many riders, ending Kim Le Court-Pienaar's season.
Blasi was forced to withdraw once the peloton reached the circuit.
"It was crazy... some riders really took too many risks,” she said afterwards. She came away with a rib injury, but it didn’t seem to be serious.
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The apparent minor nature of her injury meant that she had planned to start the European Championships in Slovenia.
If she had recovered enough, the 23-year-old could get her revenge for that missed opportunity in Canada.
Read more below the photo!
A crash in the women's World Championship ended Blasi's hope for a medal
Blasi will not compete in European Championships because of fractured rib
However, her team UAE Team L'Imad released an update today. Blasi’s injury turns out to be much more serious than initially thought.
“Following further medical examinations after her crash at the World Championships, Paula Blasi has been diagnosed with a small crack in a rib,” according to a post on social media.
“As a precaution, she will not compete in the European Championships in Ljubljana, Slovenia.”
It is not yet clear whether this also marks the end of the season for the unfortunate climber. The Italian autumn season is still to come, after which the WorldTour calendar will conclude in China with the Tour of Chongming Island.
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Clarice WebsterEditor
Clarice has been following cycling her whole life, wroting about Thibaut Pinot (among others) for her university magazine while earning her masters in Journalism. She is passionate about furthering equality in sports coverage, and has taken huge inspiration from pillars of women’s cycling like Beryl Burton, Marianne Vos, and Laura Kenny.
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Latest Comments
- - Un poco corto en la parte técnica de la bici de McNulty, no? Colnago nero con detalles arcoíris suena brutal — queremos más fotos, per favore.pedalpowe2902-10-2026
- - Demi finally gets her stripes! Team Oranje tactics on point again — recon, lead-out, and that patient regroup. Textbook. Chapeau.sprocketspiny02-10-2026
- - Wait, does the world champ jersey apply to all disciplines or just road race? Can McNulty wear it in a TT too, or is that only if he won the TT worlds?davidm02-10-2026
- - Brilliant coverage. The early flight back to beat jet lag is elite-level thinking. Those marginal gains matter before a punchy Euros course.samanthak02-10-2026
- - Not sure the “surprised everyone” line about McNulty is fair. He’s been knocking on the door all season in one-day races and TTs. Emilia in rainbows is going to slap.patriciaw02-10-2026
- - Love seeing the rainbow bands back on Slovenian roads. Demi looks sharp in that kit. Hope she gets a full custom bike soon, not just a tiny stripe under the seatpost. Come on, give the champ a proper paint job!cadencekingm02-10-2026
- - Quick one: why can’t McNulty wear the rainbow at Euros? Is it only for world champs from Europe or something about national teams vs trade teams?lindae02-10-2026
- - That Dutch masterclass was something else. Vollering timed that second move perfectly after the first dig didn’t stick. Proper teamwork — Wiebes and the crew deserve as much credit as Demi.julien02-10-2026
- - Boonen’s line about trusting teammates is gold. World’s is chess, not crit. Belgium tried to cover every scenario and covered none. Harsh lesson, but needed before next year.samanthak02-10-2026
- - Great read, but the piece leans a bit too harsh on Wout for me. He wasn’t at leader-level form, true, yet the team didn’t set up a plan B well enough. Segaert the bright spot, agreed.julien02-10-2026
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