Spanish teenager Paula Ostiz Taco delivered a brilliant performance on Kigali’s steep, challenging hills, producing a perfectly timed sprint to win the UCI Women’s Junior Road Race on Saturday and secure Spain’s first-ever world title in this category.
A patient, tactical, but demanding start
Leyre Almena Requena attacks and opens the race
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The 74-kilometre race unfolded under warm African skies and a festival-like crowd. The first decisive move came early from Leyre Almena Requena of Spain, who boldly attacked and rode alone for over an hour. Her solo adventure stretched the peloton, forcing other nations to decide whether to chase.
Meanwhile, the cobbled climbs of Côte de Kimihurura began to shape the race. Riders from among others France, the USA, and Ukraine struggled and gradually fell away. A crash by Italy’s Giada Silo on a corner created a brief scare, but she quickly returned to the bunch.
At the back, Dutch rider Megan Arens, Junior Time Trial world champion, looked uncomfortable, repeatedly losing contact on the ascents and sliding down the order. She eventually finished 20th, far from any claim to the rainbow jersey in the road race.
Tsige Kiros fights back, Anja Grossmann controls
Ethiopia’s Tsige Kiros fights her way back into race
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Drama hit for Ethiopia’s Tsige Kiros, who suffered a mechanical just before the cobbles and lost crucial seconds. Undeterred, she chased furiously, grinding back into the lead group in a show of grit that kept African hopes alive.
The tempo at the front was mostly dictated by Anja Grossmann of Switzerland. Calm and calculating, Grossmann countered every attack. The Australians lurked, waiting for their moment, while Britain’s Arabella Blackburn tried to raise the pace to shake things up.
By the second half, the front group had shrunk and re-formed several times. Spain, with strong teamwork, stayed tucked inside, conserving energy for their star, Pauli Ostiz Taco.
Chaos in the closing laps
Anja Grossmann leads and controls race
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With two laps to go and 37 riders still in contention, the race was tense and unpredictable. Czech rider Antonie Cermanova launched a move, Dutch Roos Muller countered, but Anja Grossmann calmly neutralised them. Greece’s Eirini Papadimitriou then risked a long-range attack from the right, but Spain chased her down, keeping the race together for their leader.
As the bell rang for the final lap, only 24 riders remained in the main pack. The Australian squad and Kiros pushed the pace again, but every move was covered. Exhaustion was visible; bottles were tossed in the Rwandan heat.
Kimihurura opens the exciting final
Erin Boothman clicks out of her pedal on Côte de Kimihurura and loses touch with the final of the race.
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Then came the Côte de Kimihurura, with uneven cobblestones that punished already weary legs. Grossmann struck hard, blowing the group apart. Kiros finally cracked, along with Australia’s Tully Schweitzer and Britain’s Erin Boothman, whose mechanical trouble returned at the worst moment. This time around, she did not finish.
Boothman was having a terrible run of luck on the cobbles: her misfortune on Kimihurura continued following the Junior Women’s Time Trial last week, when she was in the race for gold, until her foot came out of the pedal and she .
Paula Ostiz Taco beats Grossman, Pelogo and Swierenga in the rainbow sprint
Paula Ostiz Taco wins the sprint to become Women Junior World Champion in Kigali.
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From the chaos emerged five survivors: Anja Grossmann, Italy’s Chantal Pegolo, and Spain’s silent hunter, Paula Ostiz Taco, among them. As the road levelled with 200 meters to go, Kiros tried one last desperate surge for an African podium but couldn’t reach the front.
Ostiz, who had stayed tucked behind her Spanish teammates all race long, launched her sprint like a slingshot, calm until the perfect moment and then pure explosion. She surged past Grossmann and Pegolo to take the win with arms raised and tears streaming. Pegolo and Grossmann had to settle for silver and bronze, respectively, Sidney Swieringa sadly fell off the podium.
Finally gold for Paula Ostiz Taco
Paula Ostiz Taco after becoming Women Junior World Champion
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For Ostiz Taco, it was redemption after silver in last year’s world road race and in Tuesday’s time trial.
“It’s a dream come true,” she said, her voice emotional in an interview with the media. “My family is watching me now, and I can only thank God.”
Reflecting on her winning strategy, she remarked, “I knew I had to save my strength until the end because the climbs were tough. I trusted my sprint, and it worked when it mattered most.”
Rwanda’s own Yvonne Masengesho and Liliane Uwiringiyimana finish proudly
Yvonne Masengesho and Liliane Uwiringiyimana greeting the Rwandan crowd before the race
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Host nation Rwanda also had its moment on home roads. Yvonne Masengesho and Liliane Uwiringiyimana rode strongly through the demanding Kigali circuit, finishing in 48th and 49th place respectively.
They were among only 57 riders who completed the race, earning applause from the local crowd for their resilience on one of the toughest courses ever used for this championship.
Women’s Junior Road Race: Top 10 Results
- Paula Ostiz Taco (ESP) — 2:09:19
- Chantal Pegolo (ITA): s.t.
- Anja Grossmann (SUI): s.t.
- Sidney Swierenga (CAN): s.t.
- Giada Silo (ITA): + 3 seconds
- Thais Poirier (FRA): s.t.
- Tsige Kiros (ETH): s.t.
- Neve Parslow (AUS): s.t.
- Maria Okrucinska (POL): s.t.
- Alyssa Sarkisov (USA): s.t.
