Transfer season is in full flight, and Paula Blasi is on the move. The Spanish rider, one of the biggest names to emerge in women’s cycling this season, will join Movistar on a three-year deal after a remarkable run of results in 2026. This comes after a whole lotta fun gossip about where one of the biggest names in cycling would be going. Movistar is one of the oldest teams in the peloton, and has been home to all kinds of big names. (Hello Miguel Indurain, Pedro Delgado, Alejandro Valverde, Marlen Reusser and now, Blasi.)

Winning the Tour of Spain at only 23

2026 was definitely a breakout season for Blasi. The 23-year-old has gone from promising young rider to Grand Tour winner in a hurry. She won La Vuelta Femenina in May. She made history as the first Spanish rider to take the overall title. (Granted, it’s only been a multiple-day race for under a decade, but still. Plenty of big names have won the Vuelta in its short history.) Blasi followed that up with dubs at the CIC-Tour Féminin des Pyrénées and the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya.

Her move is definitely one of the biggest transfer stories in women’s cycling this year. She was under contract with UAE through 2027, but confirmed in September that she would leave a season early.

Movistar had been linked with her for months. There were a bunch of reports also connected her with Lidl-Trek, home of Isabella and Ava Holmgren. Spanish media had earlier speculated that the deal involved a buyout of her UAE contract. (Sidenote, transfer gossip is the best, especially when all the races are done–at least it gives us cycling fans something to wonder about.)

A great start to 2026

Her season had already been rolling before the Vuelta. Blasi won Amstel Gold Race after attacking 26 km from the finish, then finished third at Flèche Wallonne and fifth at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. At the Vuelta, she was spectacular. Blasi turned an 18-second deficit behind Anna van der Breggen into the overall lead with a huge ride on the Angliru. It was an incredible ride and confirmed her status as one of the strongest women in the peloton.

She also finished fifth overall at the Tour de France Femmes. That was despite not having made the race one of her main targets for the season. A second place on the final stage in Nice capped another impressive perf.

Blasi’s rise has been pretty fast. She began 2025 with UAE’s development squad but also raced with its WorldTour team before earning promotion in May. That year brought four victories, including a stage at the Tour de Romandie Féminin, the European under-23 road race title and bronze in the same category at the world championships.

A strong squad

Now she’s heading to Movistar, where she’ll line up on a stacked team. The WorldTour squad has riders like multiple world champ (and Euro, and Swiss) Marlen Reusser. The team has also built a strong group of young stars, including three recent junior road world champions: Cat Ferguson, Paula Ostiz and Alejandra Neira. Ferguson is only 20, but one of the brightest stars in the Women’s WorldTour

And it also has/had recently retired Oliva Baril. The Rouyn-Noranda, Que, and multiple national champion, hung up the cleats after the recent road worlds in Montreal. After her last time trial–she capped off the week with the road race, she was pretty emotional. “I spent my whole career focusing on cycling and now it’s my last ITT, so I’m really proud of myself. I’m also really happy that it’s over,” the Olympian said after.

As far as why Blasi chose Movistar, she wanted a team that would back her big goals. But she still wanted room to keep improving. Blasi also sees the chance to learn from Reusser and share leadership responsibilities as clutch to her development.

Spanish star on Spanish team

And there’s another reason the move means something to her: Movistar is her home team. Just like the aforementioned trio of Delgado, Indurain and Valverde, it’s great optics for a team to have a local rider. (Hence Paul Seixas on Decathlon, say.)

“I’ll be able to grow, share leadership responsibilities and learn from Marlen,” the Spanish ace said. “And on top of that, it’s my home team. It makes me even prouder to wear the jersey.”

Racing is done and dusted for the year, but 2027 is looking to be a banger!