“I really admire Demi Vollering”: Do Spain have genuine Tour de France contender for the future in Paula Ostiz?

Paula Ostiz has become one of the great hopes of Spanish women’s cycling and one of the most promising young riders at Movistar Team looking ahead to the future. At 18 years of age, the rider from Navarre has shown that her progression is unstoppable, establishing herself as a rider with exceptional talent and competitiveness.

2025 has been a key year in her career. She was crowned junior world champion in the road race at the World Championships in Rwanda and won the silver medal in the time trial, displaying a level of maturity and determination well beyond her years.

Later, at the European Championships in France, Ostiz claimed gold in both disciplines, completing a palmares that confirms she is no longer just a prospect, but a genuine reality of Spanish cycling.

After a year full of success, Ostiz spoke to AS, reflecting on her performances, talking about her role models and sharing her objectives for the upcoming season. Her words reflect both the ambition of a young cyclist still developing and the excitement of someone embracing the challenges of the elite level of the sport.

Paula Ostiz explained how she experienced her results at the World Championships and her development within the team: “It’s true that I was a bit annoyed not to win both gold medals in Rwanda, but I think everything went quite well. I want to take things step by step and, above all, keep improving, helping the team and learning as much as possible. At the training camp in Valencia we built a really good group and I’m looking forward to starting the season in Australia. Looking further ahead, rather than focusing on Grand Tours, I’d like to concentrate more on the Classics, but time will tell.”

The young rider also shared who her role models are in cycling: “Demi Vollering is a rider I really admire.”

Finally, Ostiz spoke about her short term personal goals and her ambitions for 2026: “I want to be Spanish champion.”

In 2025, Paula Ostiz achieved major victories and podium finishes at junior and national level. Among her standout results were gold in the junior road race and silver in the time trial at the Junior World Championships, as well as double gold in the road race and time trial at the Junior European Championships. She was also crowned junior Spanish champion in the road race and finished second in the national time trial.

In international one day races, she won the Ronde van Vlaanderen WJ, the Grand Prix Valromey Tour Feminin and the Grand Prix Valromey Tour Feminin II, among others. In stage races, Ostiz won the general, points and mountains classifications at the Watersley Ladies Challenge, in addition to individual stage victories. At the women’s Tour du Gevaudan Occitanie, she finished first in the mountains and points classifications and second overall, including podium finishes on stages 1 and 2. Other notable results included victory at the Errenteriako Ane Santesteban Txirrindulari Saria and second place at the Clasica de Jaen Nations Cup Women.