Wikipedia

Richard Carapaz

Richard Antonio Carapaz Montenegro (born 29 May 1993) is an Ecuadorian professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam EF Education–EasyPost.[7][8] Carapaz won the 2019 Giro d'Italia, becoming the first Ecuadorian rider to win the race.[9] In July 2021, he won the gold medal in the road race at the 2020 Summer Olympics, becoming the first Ecuadorian cyclist to win a medal and only the second Ecuadorian in any sport to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games. In doing so, he became the first cyclist to achieve an Olympic road race gold medal and a podium finish in each of the three Grand Tours.[citation needed]

Richard Carapaz
Carapaz at the 2022 Strade Bianche
Personal information
Full nameRichard Antonio Carapaz Montenegro
NicknameLa Locomotora (The Locomotive)
El Jaguar de Tulcan
Billy[1]
Born (1993-05-29) 29 May 1993 (age 31)
Tulcán Canton, Ecuador
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[2]
Weight62 kg (137 lb; 9 st 11 lb)[3]
Team information
Current teamEF Education–EasyPost
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Rider typeClimbing specialist
Amateur teams
2011Panavial–Coraje Carchense
2013RPM Ecuador
2014Panavial–GAD Carchi
2015Strongman–Campagnolo
2016Lizarte
Professional teams
2016Strongman–Campagnolo–Wilier
2016Movistar Team (stagiaire)
2017–2019Movistar Team[4]
2020–2022Team Ineos[5][6]
2023–EF Education–EasyPost
Major wins
Grand Tours
Tour de France
Mountains classification (2024)
1 individual stage (2024)
Combativity award (2024)
Giro d'Italia
General classification (2019)
3 individual stages (2018, 2019)
Vuelta a España
Mountains classification (2022)
3 individual stages (2022)

Stage races

Tour de Suisse (2021)

One-day races and Classics

Olympic Games Road Race (2020)
National Road Race Championships (2023)
National Time Trial Championships (2022, 2024)
Medal record
Representing  Ecuador
Men's road bicycle racing
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Men's road race
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 2023 Santiago Time trial
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Carapaz and the second or maternal family name is Montenegro.

Early life

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Carapaz was born in El Carmelo, Tulcán Canton. Whilst at school, he was mentored by one of his teachers, former Olympic racing cyclist Juan Carlos Rosero, who started a cycling club at the school. The club has also produced a number of other professional riders, including Jhonatan Narváez and Jonathan Caicedo.[10] Prior to taking up cycling, Carapaz competed for his school as a runner.[11]

Career

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Movistar Team (2016–2019)

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2016

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Carapaz began his career with amateur teams in Ecuador, Colombia and Spain. On 28 July 2016, he joined Movistar Team from Lizarte as a trainee for the remainder of the 2016 season.[12][13] He signed as a professional rider ahead of the 2017 season.[14]

2017

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In his first full year for the Movistar Team, Carapaz came second in both the GP Industria & Artigianato and the Route du Sud.[15][16] He made his Grand Tour debut in the Vuelta a España, finishing 36th overall.[17]

2018

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His first professional victories came in 2018, with a stage and the overall in the Vuelta a Asturias.[18] He won stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia, becoming the first Ecuadorian cyclist to win a Grand Tour stage.[19] He finished in the top ten in five other stages of that race, and finished fourth in the general classification. He also completed the 2018 Vuelta a España in 18th place.[20]

2019

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Carapaz at the 2019 Giro d'Italia wearing the Maglia Rosa

Carapaz again won the Vuelta a Asturias in 2019,[21] and went on to win the 2019 Giro d'Italia. After multiple crashes late in stage 4 saw several riders go down and a select group break off on the front, Carapaz made an attack in the final kilometre to take the stage win.[22] On Stage 13, Carapaz attacked and got clear of the two favourites for overall victory, Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain–Merida) and Primož Roglič (Team Jumbo–Visma). This placed him among the other favourites, two minutes down on Roglič.[23] On stage 14, Carapaz again attacked and won the stage by almost two minutes, taking the general classification lead.[24] Carapaz successfully defended his lead for the rest of the race to take the overall victory. Carapaz became the first Ecuadorian rider to win a Grand Tour and the second South American rider to win the Giro, after Colombian Nairo Quintana in 2014.[25]

Team Ineos (2020–2022)

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2020

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Carapaz wearing the polka dot jersey at the 2020 Tour de France

Carapaz joined Team Ineos at the beginning of the 2020 season on a three-year deal.[26] His first win for the team came on 7 August, on the third stage of the Tour de Pologne: on the uphill drag to the finish, Carapaz made an attack in the final kilometre and held off the peloton.[27] In the Tour de France, he came second in both stages 16 and 18. On the latter stage, he finished alongside teammate Michał Kwiatkowski, who won the stage, while Carapaz took the lead in the mountains classification from Tadej Pogačar.[28] However, two days later, Pogačar retook the lead, and also won the stage and moved into the overall race lead; Carapaz ultimately finished second in the mountains classification.[29]

In the Vuelta a España, Carapaz was once again a challenger for overall victory and traded places with defending champion Primož Roglič several times for the race lead. He first took the red jersey of the race leader on stage 6 from Roglič.[30] On stage 10, Carapaz relinquished it back to Roglič, who won the day's stage, though the two were tied on time and had to be differentiated by tiebreakers.[31] Carapaz regained the race lead briefly after stage 12,[32] but lost it for good to Roglič after the thirteenth stage.[33] On the mountainous penultimate stage, with Roglič, Carapaz, and Hugh Carthy locked in a three-way battle for the overall victory, Carapaz attacked but only managed to take 15 seconds on Carthy and 21 seconds on Roglič. In doing so, he secured a second place overall finish.[34]

2021

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Carapaz took his first victory of the 2021 season on 10 June, winning the mountainous fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse.[35] In so doing, he took the general classification lead, which he defended over the remaining five stages to take the overall win by 17 seconds ahead of Rigoberto Urán.[36]

Carapaz was named to the Ineos Grenadiers's Tour de France squad as one of four possible contenders for the general classification alongside Tao Geoghegan Hart, Richie Porte, and Tour winner Geraint Thomas.[37][38] After the other three riders were involved in crashes and lost time in the first week, Carapaz emerged as the sole leader.[39] He would eventually finish third overall.[40]

Carapaz won the Olympic road race, finishing over a minute clear of the rest of the field. He initially followed an attack by Brandon McNulty with 25 kilometres (16 mi) to go, but with 5.8 kilometres (3.6 mi) left, he pulled away from McNulty and rode across the finish line solo.[41][42][43]

 
Carapaz (right) with Jai Hindley at the 2022 Giro d'Italia

2022

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Carapaz began the 2022 season at the Étoile de Bessèges in early February, in which he crashed during stage 3 and abandoned prior to the last stage, having already lost over nine minutes to eventual winner Benjamin Thomas.[44] His bad luck continued at the Tour de la Provence about a week later, from which he was forced to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19 despite showing no symptoms.[45] However, Carapaz took his first win of the season later that month at the Ecuadorian National Time Trial Championships, which was also his first national title at the elite level.[46] His next important success came during stage 6 of the 2022 Volta a Catalunya when he went on a long-distance attack with Sergio Higuita. The pair stayed away for over 100 kilometers and raced all the way to the line with Carapaz taking the stage win and moving into 2nd on GC.[47]

EF Education-EasyPost (2023–)

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Carapaz at the 2024 Tour de France.

2023

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On 19 August 2022 it was announced Carapaz would join EF Education–EasyPost from the 2023 season on a three-year contract.[48][49]

2024

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Despite a crash during the 2024 Tour de Suisse and subsequent illness,[50] Carapaz entered the 2024 Tour de France with EF Education-EasyPost, aiming for stage wins.[51] He took the yellow jersey after Stage 3, becoming the first Ecuadorian rider to do so,[52] before losing it to Tadej Pogačar after Stage 4.[53] He went on to win Stage 17 in a solo finish,[54][55] crossing the finish line more than 7 minutes before Pogačar (27th place),[56] who still held the jersey at the time. By winning this stage, he became the first Ecuadorian to win a Tour de France stage, and the first to win a stage at each of the Grand Tours.[57] Carapaz took the polka–dot jersey from Pogačar after Stage 19,[58] and by the end of Stage 20 he had secured a large enough lead in the KoM category for a win to be inevitable. This made Carapaz the first Ecuadorian to win the classification.[59]

Major results

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2010
1st   Road race, National Junior Road Championships
2013
1st   Road race, Pan American Under-23 Road Championships
2nd Overall Vuelta al Ecuador
9th Overall Tour de Savoie Mont-Blanc
9th Overall Vuelta a Guatemala
2014
2nd Overall Vuelta al Ecuador
2015
1st   Overall Vuelta de la Juventud de Colombia
1st Stages 3 & 4
1st Stage 4 Clásico RCN
2016
1st   Overall Vuelta a Navarra
1st Stage 2
2017
2nd Overall Route du Sud
1st   Young rider classification
2nd GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
4th Overall Vuelta a Castilla y León
6th Overall Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid
2018 (3 pro wins)
1st   Overall Vuelta a Asturias
1st Stage 2
3rd Overall Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali
4th Overall Giro d'Italia
1st Stage 8
Held   after Stages 6–13
5th Circuito de Getxo
2019 (5)
1st   Overall Giro d'Italia
1st Stages 4 & 14
1st   Overall Vuelta a Asturias
1st   Points classification
1st Stage 2
3rd Overall Vuelta a Burgos
6th Overall Vuelta a San Juan
9th Overall Tour Colombia
2020 (1)
1st Stage 3 Tour de Pologne
2nd Overall Vuelta a España
Held   after Stages 6–9 & 12
Held   after Stages 2–4
6th Overall Vuelta a Burgos
Tour de France
Held   after Stages 18–19
  Combativity award Stage 16
2021 (3)
1st   Road race, Olympic Games
1st   Overall Tour de Suisse
1st Stage 5
3rd Overall Tour de France
9th La Flèche Wallonne
2022 (5)
National Road Championships
1st   Time trial
2nd Road race
Vuelta a España
1st   Mountains classification
1st Stages 12, 14 & 20
2nd Overall Giro d'Italia
Held   after Stages 14–19
  Combativity award Stage 14
2nd Overall Volta a Catalunya
1st Stage 6
2023 (2)
1st   Road race, National Road Championships
1st Mercan'Tour Classic
Pan American Games
2nd   Time trial
7th Road race
2nd Tre Valli Varesine
2nd Giro della Toscana
7th Giro dell'Emilia
7th Coppa Sabatini
8th Giro di Lombardia
2024 (4)
National Road Championships
1st   Time trial
2nd Road race
Tour de France
1st   Mountains classification
1st Stage 17
Held   after Stage 3
  Combativity award Stage 15, 19 & Overall
2nd Overall Tour Colombia
1st   Points classification
1st   Mountains classification
1st Stage 5
4th Overall Vuelta a España
7th Overall Tour de Romandie
1st Stage 4

General classification results timeline

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Grand Tour general classification results
Grand Tour 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
  Giro d'Italia — 4 1 — — 2 — —
  Tour de France — — — 13 3 — DNF 17
  Vuelta a España 36 18 — 2 DNF 14 — 4
Major stage race general classification results
Race 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
  Paris–Nice — 11 — — — — — —
  Tirreno–Adriatico — — 20 — — DNF — DNF
  Volta a Catalunya — — 26 NH 21 2 51 —
  Tour of the Basque Country — — — — — DNF —
  Tour de Romandie 38 — — — — — 7
  Critérium du Dauphiné 44 — — — — — 36 —
  Tour de Suisse — — — NH 1 — — DNF

Major championships timeline

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Event 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
  Olympic Games Road race Not held 1 Not held —
Time trial — —
  World Championships Road race 71 DNF 22 — — —
Time trial — — — — — —
  National Championships Road race — — — — 2 1 2
Time trial — — — — 1 — 1
Legend
— Did not compete
DNF Did not finish
IP In progress
NH Not held

References

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  1. ^ Shaw, Rob (22 June 2021). "Richie Porte backs INEOS Grenadiers' Tour de France tactics". The Examiner. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Richard Carapaz – Team INEOS Grenadiers". Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Richard Carapaz". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Movistar Team launches 2019 season with highest hopes". Telefónica. Telefónica, S.A. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Team Ineos". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Ineos Grenadiers". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 2 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  7. ^ "EF Education–EasyPost". UCI. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  8. ^ "OurTeam". EF Education–EasyPost. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  9. ^ "Giro d'Italia: Richard Carapaz becomes the first Ecuadorian and to win the Giro d'Italia". BBC Sport. 2 June 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  10. ^ Fotheringham, Alasdair (13 September 2020). "Richard Carapaz: From Ecuador to Grand Tour winner". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  11. ^ "The Extraordinary World of Richard Carapaz". Rouleur. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  12. ^ "Carapaz joins Movistar Team as trainee". Movistar Team. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Richard Carapaz (Lizarte), a prueba con el Movistar" [Richard Carapaz (Lizarte), on trial with Movistar]. Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). Grupo La Información. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Carapaz becomes pro with Movistar Team; De la Parte joins". Movistar Team. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  15. ^ "Adam Yates wins GP Industria & Artigianato". CyclingNews. 5 March 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  16. ^ "Dillier seals overall Route du Sud victory". CyclingNews. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  17. ^ "La Vuelta 17 Clasificación General Individual 21". 2017 Vuelta a España. Tissot Timing. 10 September 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  18. ^ "Carapaz triumphs in Vuelta a Asturias". Movistar Team. 29 April 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  19. ^ Ostanek, Daniel (12 May 2018). "Carapaz makes history with Giro d'Italia stage win". CyclingNews. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  20. ^ "La Vuelta 18 Clasificación General Individual 21". 2017 Vuelta a España. Tissot Timing. 16 September 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  21. ^ "Richard Carapaz se proclama bicampeón de la Vuelta a Asturias y anuncia que va por el Giro de Italia" [Richard Carapaz is proclaimed two-time champion of the Vuelta a Asturias and announces that he is going for the Giro d'Italia]. El Comercio (in Spanish). Grupo El Comercio C. A. 5 May 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  22. ^ Lowe, Felix (14 May 2019). "Primož Roglič extends lead as Richard Carapaz wins stage 4 after crash chaos derails Tom Dumoulin". Eurosport. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  23. ^ Perelman, Rich (24 May 2019). "CYCLING: Russia's Zakarin scores surprise win in Giro Stage 13 and rides into overall contention". The Sports Examiner. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  24. ^ "Carapaz in pink, and the favourites reshuffle: Giro d'Italia, stage 14". CyclingTips. 26 May 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  25. ^ "Richard Carapaz wins Giro d'Italia to make cycling history for Ecuador". The Guardian. 2 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  26. ^ Weislo, Laura (2 September 2019). "Team Ineos confirm signing of Richard Carapaz". CyclingNews. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  27. ^ Gadzała, Paweł (7 August 2020). "Tour de Pologne: Richard Carapaz takes surprise win on stage 3". CyclingNews. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  28. ^ Ryan, Barry (17 September 2020). "Tour de France: Michał Kwiatkowski wins stage 18". CyclingNews. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  29. ^ Ostanek, Daniel (19 September 2020). "Pogačar storms to maillot jaune on stage 20 as Roglič's Tour de France bid collapses". CyclingNews. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  30. ^ Delaney, Ben (25 October 2020). "Vuelta a España stage 6: Richard Carapaz takes over jersey as Ion Izagirre wins solo". VeloNews. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  31. ^ Fotheringham, Alasdair (30 October 2020). "Carapaz remains upbeat despite losing Vuelta a España lead". CyclingNews. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  32. ^ Fotheringham, Alasdair (1 November 2020). "Carapaz reclaims Vuelta a España lead after dropping Roglič on Angliru". CyclingNews. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  33. ^ Fotheringham, Alasdair (3 November 2020). "Carapaz upbeat despite losing Vuelta a España lead for second time". CyclingNews. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  34. ^ Fotheringham, Alasdair (7 November 2020). "Carapaz settles for second in Vuelta a España after devastating late charge". CyclingNews. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  35. ^ Mickey, Abby (10 June 2021). "Richard Carapaz wins Tour de Suisse stage 5". CyclingTips. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  36. ^ Rogers, Owen (13 June 2021). "Richard Carapaz survives to win the Tour de Suisse overall". CyclingWeekly. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  37. ^ Bonville-Ginn, Tim (19 June 2021). "A closer look at the Ineos Grenadiers squad for the Tour de France 2021". Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  38. ^ Benson, Daniel (21 June 2021). "Analysing Ineos Grenadiers' 2021 Tour de France team". CyclingNews. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  39. ^ "Tour de France: Carapaz moves into Ineos pole position at Mûr-de-Bretagne". CyclingNews. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  40. ^ "Richard Carapaz: I did everything I could to get a good result in the Tour de France". CyclingNews. 18 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  41. ^ Benson, Daniel (24 July 2021). "Olympics: Richard Carapaz claims men's road race title". CyclingNews. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  42. ^ McCurry, Justin (24 July 2021). "Richard Carapaz conquers men's road race after Geraint Thomas crashes out". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  43. ^ Palermo, Angelina (24 July 2021). "23-year-old Brandon McNulty Rides to Sixth Place in His First Olympic Games". USA Cycling. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  44. ^ Cossins, Peter (4 February 2022). "Richard Carapaz crashes on key GC stage at Bessèges". VeloNews. Outside Interactive, Inc. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  45. ^ Fletcher, Patrick (12 February 2022). "Richard Carapaz out of Tour de la Provence after COVID-19 positive". CyclingNews. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  46. ^ "Richard Carapaz, nuevo campeón nacional de la contrarreloj individual" [Richard Carapaz, new national champion of the individual time trial]. El Universo (in Spanish). 18 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  47. ^ Daniel Ostanek (26 March 2022). "Higuita takes Volta a Catalunya lead after 117km stage 6 attack". Cycling News.
  48. ^ Sturney, Rob (19 August 2022). "Richard Carapaz will join EF Education-Easypost for 2023". Canadian Cycling Magazine. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  49. ^ "Richard Carapaz signs with EF Education-EasyPost | EF Education-EasyPost". efprocycling.com. 19 August 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  50. ^ Laura Weislo (2024-06-24). "EF Education-EasyPost aiming for Tour de France stage wins as Carapaz's form in question". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2024-07-21.
  51. ^ "Our 2024 Tour de France Roster". 24 June 2024.
  52. ^ "Girmay first black African to win Tour de France Stage". 1 July 2024.
  53. ^ "Tour de France 2024 - stage-by-stage guide and results". BBC Sport. 2024-06-26. Retrieved 2024-07-21.
  54. ^ "Tour de France: Richard Carapaz climbs to stage 17 solo victory as Pogačar fortifies lead". 17 July 2024.
  55. ^ "Carapaz earns first Tour win on stage 17". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  56. ^ "Tour de France: Richard Carapaz completes solo win on stage 17". BBC Sport. 2024-07-17. Retrieved 2024-07-21.
  57. ^ "Richard Carapaz first Ecuadorian to win Tour de France stage". 17 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  58. ^ "Official classifications of Tour de France 2024 - Stage 19". www.letour.fr. Retrieved 2024-07-21.
  59. ^ "Richard Carapaz did the polka dots proud". Escape Collective. 21 July 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
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