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New York Times
14-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Richard Carapaz interview: ‘When I'm at altitude in Europe, I never feel that burden'
'Ever since I was training in Ecuador beforehand, I was open that my goal was to win the Giro,' says Richard Carapaz. 'In that sense, it was the race that we were preparing for. We (EF Education–EasyPost) didn't have the most powerful team, but with the team we did have, we were brave enough to dare to dream. Advertisement 'It was one of the most beautiful experiences. It was the very fact of feeling again, of being plugged in every day to try to win. That itself is something, hey? And well, it's not easy. But it makes me feel alive, because I think that's my essence.' It has been two weeks since the Giro d'Italia, and Richard Carapaz can speak to The Athletic with considered analysis about the events of the past month. His distinctive silhouette animated the race as its most aggressive rider — low on his bike, crucifix poking out from behind a half-undone zip, barely appearing to breathe but for the sheen of sweat. During his fiercest attacks, such as those up to Castelnovo ne' Monti or San Valentino, his torso sways vigorously from side to side, chin still aerodynamically tucked. He resembles Pernell Whitaker evading punches while throwing them himself. Entering the climactic stage 20 as the in-form climber in the race, 43 seconds behind Isaac del Toro, the surprise 21-year-old wearer of the pink jersey, Carapaz was arguably favourite for the Maglia Rosa. In the event, as Carapaz and Del Toro marked each other, British rider Simon Yates surged forward to victory. Carapaz finished third, his fifth Grand Tour podium, and first since 2022. Back in Ecuador, where he is training for next month's Tour de France, Carapaz is proud of the result. Six years after first winning the Giro, the 32-year-old remains on its podium — even if he is still confused over how the final racing day played out. 'I never fully understood why it went that way on the (Colle delle) Finestre,' he says. 'But those kinds of things are difficult to control. When it's not in your hands, it's impossible to change. Everything that was within my reach, or everything I could do as a rider, I did.' Over a 90-minute conversation, Carapaz gives his version of what transpired on the Finestre and discusses his plans for the Tour de France — but to begin to understand the man, how he races and who he is, you have to understand the Ecuadorian highlands. Carapaz was born in Carchi, one of Ecuador's most remote and mountainous provinces, lying on its northern border with Colombia. It provides potatoes, sweetcorn, and spring onions, with its largest settlement, Tulcan, the highest city in the country at 2,900 metres. In an era where the sport's top riders go on altitude training camps to acclimatise, Carapaz is at a natural advantage. But it is uphill still to Playa Alta, his hometown, which is over 1,000m higher than the 2,178m Finestre, the high point of this year's Giro. Advertisement 'When I'm at altitude in Europe, I never feel that burden,' Carapaz says. 'It's something normal. It's maybe a little different to the altitude we have here, because there's humidity in Ecuador — in Europe, the air is drier and better at 1500m. 'But I must be the professional that lives at the highest altitude in the whole peloton. You can see there's a benefit, because it's not the same thing to live at sea level and go uphill to adapt. My family has lived at altitude for five generations — genetically, my body is made to survive 3000m.' But there's more to the mountains than height alone. Two hundred kilometres from Quito, life is harder — Carapaz first picked up a bike out of necessity, rather than dreams of stardom. 'Every sport needs a lot of research, a lot of work, a lot of sacrifice, right?' argues Carapaz. 'It's not purely genetic construction — you can't go out and win a Tour de France like that. You need preparation, proper nutrition, proper work. When I was a kid, I didn't do these sorts of things. 'When I went to school, I rode my bike, but it's because it was easier than walking. I didn't have in my head that I wanted to be Marco Pantani or Miguel Indurain. It was part of daily life.' And life almost got in Carapaz's way. As a 13-year-old, his mother Ana Luisa was diagnosed with breast cancer. 'She had to go and live in Quito for treatment,' says Carapaz. 'The farm was left alone, and so my grandfather and I had to take care of the pigs, the chicken, the cattle. My siblings were at university — I was left in charge.' He rose every morning at 5am, spending an hour and a half milking the family's seven cows by hand. Sometimes, jobs were not done until it was too late to cycle to class. He continued doing these jobs even once his parents returned — on one occasion, Carapaz missed the visit of the man who would become his first coach to his school. Hearing about the opportunity, the teenager raced to join his cycling group the next day. Advertisement 'Certain activities I did, whether you like it or not, also shape your character,' he says. 'That defines a lot of when I am riding, of being fierce, of persevering, and having that beast character when things do not work out to turn the situation around — because it happens here very often, doesn't it? 'Country life is not easy. If your parents work in agriculture, the condition of their crop makes a big difference. That is how I was shaped.' It was a mentality that allowed him to fly. With his mother recovered, and his cycling talent recognised, Carapaz devoured the training and nutrition he needed to turn professional, first cracking South America, and then Europe. Over the video call, Carapaz is wearing a T-shirt from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where he won the road race, capturing what was Ecuador's second-ever gold medal. Carchi was to thank for that as well, with the area's humidity mirroring the oppressive summer conditions of Japan. He was strong enough to ride away from the chasers on unfamiliar, flatter terrain. For this season, Carapaz promised EF that he would arrive at the Giro in the best shape of his career. Rather than doing the team's typical training camp in the Sierra Nevada or Andorra, he wanted to remain in Ecuador, taking advantage of his home's natural features. 'This year has been a little different,' he says. 'The team wanted to give me a certain freedom. And being here has always been a plus — I'm a boy who is used to living above 3,000m. But in a certain sense, it's also a commitment to show that I can prepare for the objective just as I have in previous years.' His team quickly had that proof. Entering somewhat under the radar as a general classification (GC) rider, Carapaz realised in Albania that he had good legs — moving into overall contention after winning stage 11, and again taking significant time out of Del Toro on stage 16. Entering the final two mountain days, his director sportif, Juanma Garate, himself a stage winner in all three Grand Tours, addressed the team on the bus, Carapaz having his battered body stretched out by a soigneur at its back. 'We are second in GC, we have the strongest rider in the race, and we have 40 seconds to a rider who is struggling on the long climbs,' Garate said. 'You're not going to find yourself in this scenario much in your career. But you'll remember this for the rest of your life.' Advertisement After a stalemate on stage 19, the 18km climb of the legendary Finestre would be decisive — a climb Carapaz had ridden well back in 2018, with its gravelled slope reminiscent of his local Volcano Chiles, just across the Colombian border. EF hatched a plan. 'We knew we didn't have the best team in the race,' Carapaz says. 'So we had to do a slightly different race — we didn't want Del Toro and UAE Team Emirates to control everything like the day before, when he always had four or five teammates with him. You couldn't move, because they were always in the majority. 'So the plan on the Finestre was to break the race in the first kilometre, to try everything and make them play their cards. To isolate Del Toro was our first objective. And well, we did that, didn't we? There was chaos where Del Toro, me, and Yates were left alone from the third kilometre onwards.' But unable to shake Del Toro, and with the young Mexican unwilling to chase down Yates' subsequent attacks, Carapaz was left in a difficult tactical position as the Visma–Lease a Bike rider soloed away towards overall victory. 'When several days have passed, you can think about everything with a cooler head,' says Carapaz. 'The plan was to show who the strongest was. But Del Toro was obsessed with me. He stayed with me until the last minute. 'Yates had already attacked once, I'd closed the gap for him (Del Toro), and this time Yates had 20 to 30 seconds. I asked Del Toro to help me, but he refused. So my thinking was, 'If you aren't going to work, I'm going to let people go'. If you're the leader of the race, the Maglia Rosa (pink jersey), that's the point that you have to take the lead, because you're the one who's losing the jersey. 'I rode again, when Yates was almost two minutes away, with the idea of cresting the Finestre much closer to him. And we brought it back to 1.20. And that's when Del Toro really had to take the baton. He could have won the Giro, but I don't understand why they didn't make that decision. He became so obsessed with me — that however good he was the day before did not matter. 'In the end, Yates had a teammate (Wout van Aert) in front who helped him a lot. You see, then, that Isaac came and asked me for help. I told him: 'Man, the race is over now. I can't do anything anymore, I'm sorry'.' Despite his frustration with UAE's tactics on the final day, Carapaz still rates Del Toro highly. Advertisement 'He had been in front for many days,' he says. 'For that, you've got legs, you don't need to prove it. I already knew a little about his quality, we raced together last year and he showed a very good level. And in that sense, it showed that there's a replacement of a new generation of talent that is coming from behind. It's been a demonstration of what he can do.' And in a wider sense, this year's Giro was significant as a race animated by Latin American riders. Del Toro and Carapaz both finished on the podium and won stages. Colombian Egan Bernal showed his best form since his 2022 crash, sparking the chaos of the gravel stage to Siena. 'The role of Latin Americans has been clear,' he remarks. 'Everyone has been working for their own team but it has been very important for our entire continent, because we have been the main movers in the race. We all had the same objective to win.' Just over a month from riding into Rome, Carapaz will be on the Tour de France startlist in Lille. Here, the reigning King of the Mountains has been tasked with an alternative brief. 'The Tour is a bit of a different race,' he says. 'In a certain sense, I don't have the team to fight for the overall victory with. You need that for the first 10 stages. So to go for the general classification would be a little absurd. We're going to do things that we can do. 'So our objectives are different. It'll be similar to last year — I'll go for a few stages, for the mountains jersey, which I really like. It's a beautiful jersey. 'And in the end, it's also going to be a bit more fun for me, isn't it? Taking away the pressure of fighting every day for a Grand Tour, I've done that this year. In that sense, it's a little bit better for me, too.'
Times
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Britain's Simon Yates comes from behind to win Giro d'Italia
Simon Yates produced one of the great performances by a British rider in a grand tour, coming from behind to win the Giro d'Italia by almost four minutes. At the beginning of the day, Yates trailed the leader Isaac del Toro by 1min 21 seconds and second-place Richard Carapaz by 38 seconds. At the end of the day — having put more than five minutes into his nearest rivals — he was 3min 56sec clear of Del Toro and 4min 43sec clear of Carapaz. There is one final ceremonial stage to Rome remaining, which Yates will ride in pink. Seven years ago, Yates led the Giro when Chris Froome attacked on the Colle delle Finestre. Yates collapsed and lost more than an hour on Froome, who went on to win the race. It is a result that has hung over Yates's career, though he won the Vuelta a Espana later that year. 'The first talk that we had with him at his first training camp, it was really only about this stage,' Marc Reef, his directeur sportif, said. 'He wanted to do well here. Now on the Finestre, he is turning this Giro upside down. It's incredible that he had the legs and the mental strength to do it this way.' Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Here, the story was almost reversed. After an early leadout from EF Education-EasyPost, Richard Carapaz attacked on the lower slopes of the Finestre and was followed only by the pink jersey Isaac del Toro. But soon after, Yates bridged the gap comfortably and almost immediately tried an attack. Carapaz and Del Toro responded to that first foray, but soon after they could not. The gap at first grew slowly, but by the time he passed through the gravel section at the summit of the Finestre, he was into the virtual pink jersey. In a tactical masterstroke from his team, Visma-Lease a Bike, Wout van Aert — who had been in the day's breakaway — was waiting to guide his leader through the valley before the climb to Sestriere. As Van Aert motored through the valley, Del Toro and Carapaz effectively conceded. As Carapaz refused to do any work to close the gap to Yates, Del Toro was on the team radio before also refusing to work. Out front, Van Aert, had put another two and a half minutes into the Del Toro-Carapaz group. On the slopes to Sestriere, Van Aert having spent himself in a race-clinching turn through the valley, Yates went out alone. The gap continued to grow. He could not close the gap to Chris Harper of Jayco-Alula, who won the stage — and in fact, he will win the overall without having won a stage — but in the end his margin over Del Toro was emphatic. 'It's incredible,' Van Aert said. 'Such a brave effort from Simon to go all in from so far. Chapeau to him.'
BBC News
24-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Dramatic win for Asgreen as crash affects GC battle
Kasper Asgreen held on for a remarkable breakaway win on stage 14 of the Giro d'Italia as a crash late in the day had a major impact on the general classification battle.A bunch sprint was expected in Nova Gorica/Gorizia on the Italy-Slovenia border but several riders went down 23km from the line to set up a dramatic crash split the peloton, with about 20 riders avoiding the chaos to keep up the chase of the breakaway they could not reel in Asgreen as Denmark's EF Education-EasyPost rider, 30, claimed his second Grand Tour stage win by 16 Kaden Groves outsprinted Visma-Lease a Bike rider Olav Kooij to take second leader Isaac del Toro was in the chase group and so retained the pink jersey, but only after surviving another scare towards the end of the 195km route from of his GC rivals lost further time though. More to follow.
RTÉ News
15-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Caden Groves prevails on day of chaos as Giro reaches Naples
Kaden Groves won a chaotic stage six of the Giro d'Italia in Naples after a huge crash earlier in the day led organisers to neutralise the general classification fight. Australian Groves beat Milan Fretin and Paul Magnier in a much-reduced sprint as Olav Kooij was caught out on the barriers on the waterfront in Naples, almost 10 minutes before race leader Mads Pedersen and many of the main favourites crossed the line. Moments before Groves powered to his first win of the season, a protester stepped out in front of the fast-moving peloton holding a banner, almost causing another huge incident and disrupting the lead-out trains. Sam Bennett finished 11th as the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale sprinter's wait for a Grand Tour stage win goes on, despite being in the mix approaching the closing stages. Darren Rafferty of EF Education EasyPost finished safely in the peloton. Organisers decided there would be no time gaps taken at the finish in the wake of a huge crash that ripped through the peloton with a little over 70 kilometres left of the 227km stage from Potenza – the longest of the Giro – that was contested in treacherous damp conditions. Adam Yates and Richard Carapaz were among those bloodied and bruised but Jai Hindley, the 2022 Giro winner and the main domestique for overall favourite Primoz Roglic, was forced to abandon, the main victim of a crash which forced the race to temporarily stop. When it did resume, the decision to neutralise the classifications and leave only the stage victory up for grabs led the main favourites to ease up and wait for bigger challenges to come, with Friday's stage seven from Castel di Sangro to Tagliacozzo the first real mountain test. Pedersen, who began Thursday's stage hoping for a fourth victory of the week and a repeat of his 2023 win in Naples, will carry the pink jersey into Friday, 17 seconds up on Roglic, but will fully expect to lose it given the terrain to be taken on.
