Results La Vuelta Femenina 2026 Stage 7 - Paula Blasi cracks Anna van der Breggen in incredible GC turnaround on Angliru as Petra Stiasny takes stunning solo stage win

Paula Blasi produced a dramatic final-stage turnaround to win La Vuelta Femenina 2026 on the Angliru, cracking Anna van der Breggen on the brutal upper slopes after the SD Worx - Protime leader had started the day in red.

The stage victory went to Petra Stiasny, who surged past Blasi in the final kilometres to claim a stunning solo win for Human Powered Health, but the defining story of the day was the collapse and reversal of the general classification. Van der Breggen had looked in control after her dominant victory on Les Praeres 24 hours earlier. On the Angliru, that control disappeared.

Blasi turned the race around when the GC group exploded on the steepest ramps, riding away from Van der Breggen and then keeping her rhythm as the red jersey slipped out of SD Worx hands in the final mountain kilometres of the race.

The stage began aggressively, with the peloton already splitting on the Alto de Santo Emiliano before the race settled into a more tactical middle phase. Femke Markus and Riejanne Markus were both active early before the day’s key move developed with Liane Lippert also involved. Lippert became the most dangerous name in the escape, especially as the gap grew beyond four minutes and briefly gave the Movistar rider a possible route back into the upper reaches of the general classification.

SD Worx were able to sit back for much of that phase thanks to Femke Markus being present up the road, while UAE Team ADQ and FDJ United - SUEZ were among the teams taking responsibility behind.

The gap began to come down as the terrain sharpened towards the Angliru. Lippert eventually emerged alone from the breakaway, but her resistance ended once the favourites reached the decisive gradients. By then, the race had already shifted away from control and towards survival.

Before the Angliru began, there was still one last classification battle to settle for Lotte Kopecky. The Belgian had already shifted into support duty for Van der Breggen after losing red on Les Praeres, but the points classification remained firmly within reach. At the final intermediate sprint, Mischa Bredewold led Kopecky into position, with Franziska Koch beating her across the line but failing to take enough points to seriously threaten the green jersey.

That effectively secured Kopecky’s hold on the points classification unless Koch could produce an unlikely top-eight finish on the Angliru. After that, Kopecky let the peloton go before the final climb, her race already successfully transformed from red jersey holder to stage winner, team worker and points classification leader.

The GC battle ignited once the Angliru reached its most severe gradients. Gaia Realini helped stretch the reduced group before Marion Bunel launched the move that changed the shape of the race. The Visma - Lease a Bike rider attacked hard and immediately put Van der Breggen under pressure.

Blasi initially looked vulnerable as well, but the Spaniard recovered, regained control of her effort and then made the decisive move herself. Van der Breggen could not respond.

From that moment, the race turned completely. The Dutchwoman, so strong 24 hours earlier on Les Praeres, began losing ground quickly, while Blasi rode alone towards the virtual red jersey.

For several kilometres, it looked as if Blasi might complete the double of stage victory and overall triumph. Bunel slipped back, Juliette Berthet hovered behind, and Urska Zigart and Valentina Cavallar remained part of the reshuffle further down the climb as Van der Breggen’s challenge faded.

Then came the final twist in the fight for the stage. Stiasny, who had been climbing strongly through the shattered remains of the GC group, closed rapidly on Blasi in the final kilometres. On the Angliru’s steepest ramps, the Human Powered Health rider reached the UAE Team ADQ leader and rode straight past her.

Blasi had to let her go, but by that point the Spaniard’s race had become about the red jersey more than the stage win. Stiasny continued alone towards the summit to seal a remarkable victory on the final day, while Blasi kept enough pace behind to complete the overall turnaround.

The Angliru did exactly what the race organisers would have hoped when placing it on the final day. It ended the breakaway’s hopes, scattered the GC group, cracked the race leader and produced both a surprise stage winner and a dramatic overall reversal. Blasi took the race. Stiasny took the stage. Van der Breggen, after looking in control after Les Praeres, saw her Vuelta slip away on the final climb.

After a week of sprint drama, jersey changes, crashes and tactical control, La Vuelta Femenina 2026 was ultimately decided in the most brutal way possible: one last climb, one final collapse, and one Spanish rider seizing the race on the Angliru.