Anna van der Breggen, Paula Blasi, and Marion Bunel atop the final podium of La Vuelta Femenina 2026 (Image credit: Getty Images)

The seven-day La Vuelta Femenina , the first Grand Tour of the season, saw Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ) become the first Spanish winner of the race as a young generation of riders took charge.

She raced to her overall triumph atop the Alto de L'Angliru, the toughest climb in professional cycling, raced for the first time as a milestone addition to the Spanish race.

A changing of the guard

I am now in my ninth season of covering women’s road cycling, and for much of that time, races saw the same main protagonists.…