Richard Antonio Carapaz Montenegro (born 29 May 1993) is an Ecuadorian professional

road racing cyclist Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most commo ...

who currently rides for

UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road cycling, the UCI World Tour or UCI ProTour ...

. Carapaz won the 2019 Giro d'Italia, becoming the first Ecuadorian rider to win the race. In July 2021, he won the gold medal in the road race at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

, 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.

Early life

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 Juan Carlos Rosero García (28 November 1962 – 23 January 2013) was an Ecuadorian professional road racing cyclist, who competed for his native country at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. After retiring from competition, Rose ...

, who started a cycling club at the school. The club has also produced a number of other professional riders, including

Jhonatan Narváez Jhonatan Manuel Narváez Prado (born 4 March 1997) is an Ecuadorian professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Originally from El Playón de San Francisco in Ecuador's Sucumbíos Canton, whilst at school N ...

and

Jonathan Caicedo Jonathan Kléver Caicedo Cepeda (born 28 April 1993) is an Ecuadorian professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Caicedo is from the town of Santa Martha de Cuba in Ecuador's Tulcán Canton, from which he g ...

. Prior to taking up cycling, Carapaz competed for his school as a runner.

Career

Movistar Team (2016–2019)

2016

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

2017

In his first full year for the , Carapaz came second in both the GP Industria & Artigianato and the

Route du Sud The Route d'Occitanie is a road bicycle race with 4 stages held annually in Southern France. It was first held in 1977 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is usually held a week before the Tour de France ...

. He made his

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...

debut in the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the ...

, finishing 36th overall.

2018

His first professional victories came in 2018, with a stage and the overall in the

Vuelta a Asturias Vuelta Asturias is a professional cycle road race held in Spain in early May each year. The event was first run in 1925 but has not been held consistently until 1968 to present. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI ...

. He won stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia, becoming the first Ecuadorian cyclist to win a

stage. 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 The 2018 Vuelta a España was a three-week Grand Tour cycling stage race that took place in Spain between 25 August and 16 September 2018. The race was the 73rd edition of the Vuelta a España and was the final Grand Tour of the 2018 cycling s ...

in 18th place.

2019

Carapaz again won the

in 2019, 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. On Stage 13, Carapaz attacked and got clear of the two favourites for overall victory,

Vincenzo Nibali ), The Nibbler , birth_date = , birth_place = Messina, Sicily, Italy , height = , weight = , currentteam = , discipline = Road , role = Rider , ridertype = Climber , proyears1 = 2005 , proteam1 = , proyears2 = 2006–2012 , protea ...

() and Primož Roglič (). This placed him among the other favourites, two minutes down on Roglič. On stage 14, Carapaz again attacked and won the stage by almost two minutes, taking the general classification lead. 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 Nairo Alexánder Quintana Rojas, Order of Boyacá, ODB, (born 4 February 1990) is a Colombian racing cyclist, who rides for UCI ProSeries, UCI ProTeam . Nicknamed "Nairoman" and "El Cóndor de los Andes", Quintana is a specialist climber, known ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

Team Ineos (2020–2022)

2020

Carapaz joined at the beginning of the 2020 season on a three-year deal. His first win for the team came on 7 August, on the third stage of the

Tour de Pologne The Tour de Pologne (Polish language, Polish: ''Wyścig Dookoła Polski'', English language, English: ''Tour of Poland'', official abbreviation TdP,) is an annual, professional men's Race stage, multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race prim ...

: on the uphill drag to the finish, Carapaz made an attack in the final kilometre and held off the peloton. In the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

, he came second in both stages 16 and 18. On the latter stage, he finished alongside teammate

Michał Kwiatkowski Michał Kwiatkowski ( , born 2 June 1990) is a Polish professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Kwiatkowski is seen as a strong all rounder, with good sprinting, time-trialling and climbing abilities allowing him ...

, who won the stage, while Carapaz took the lead in the

mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing, Queen of the Mountains (QoM) is used. While the title may be given to the rider who achieves the highest p ...

from Tadej Pogačar. 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. In the

, 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. 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. Carapaz regained the race lead briefly after stage 12, but lost it for good to Roglič after the thirteenth stage. On the mountainous penultimate stage, with Roglič, Carapaz, and

Hugh Carthy Hugh John Carthy (born 9 July 1994) is a British professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Carthy's nickname "Huge" was coined when his name was mispronounced by an announcer in the Giro d'Italia, but stuck due to ...

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.

2021

Carapaz took his first victory of the 2021 season on 10 June, winning the mountainous fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse. 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 Rigoberto Urán Urán, ODB (born 26 January 1987) is a Colombian professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he won a silver medal in the road race. He became the first Colombian ever ...

. Carapaz was named to the 's

squad as one of four possible contenders for the general classification alongside

Tao Geoghegan Hart Tao Geoghegan Hart ( ; born 30 March 1995) is a British cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He rode for as a stagiaire in late 2015, and joined the team permanently for the 2017 season. He won the 2020 Giro d'Italia, taking the ...

Richie Porte Richard Julian Porte (born 30 January 1985) is an Australian professional road bicycle racer who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . His successes include wins at 8 World Tour stage races: Paris–Nice in 2013 and 2015, the Volta a Catalunya ...

, and Tour winner Geraint Thomas. After the other three riders were involved in crashes and lost time in the first week, Carapaz emerged as the sole leader. He would eventually finish third overall. 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 Brandon Alexander McNulty (born April 2, 1998) is an American cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . In the 2016 UCI Road World Championships – Men's junior time trial, 2016 UCI Junior World Time Trial Championships McNulty became the fourth Ame ...

with to go, but with left, he pulled away from McNulty and rode across the finish line solo.

2022

Carapaz began the 2022 season at the

Étoile de Bessèges The Étoile de Bessèges () is an early-season five-day road bicycle racing stage race held annually around Bessèges, in the Gard department of the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. First organized in 1971 as a one-day race, it became a s ...

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. 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 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

despite showing no symptoms. 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. His next important success came during stage 6 of the

2022 Volta a Catalunya The 2022 Volta a Catalunya was a road cycling stage race that took place between 21 and 27 March 2022. The race took place primarily in the autonomous community of Catalonia in northeastern Spain, with the rest of the route in the department o ...

when he went on a long distance attack with

Sergio Higuita Sergio Andrés Higuita García (born 1 August 1997) is a Colombian professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career He moved to EF Education First from UCI Continental team in May 2019, having initially been set ...

. 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.

EF Education-EasyPost

2023

On 19 August 2022 it was announced Carapaz would join from the 2023 season on a three-year contract.

Major results

;2010 : 1st Ecuador NC

Road race, National Junior Road Championships ;2013 : 1st PanAmericanJersey

Road race, Pan American Under-23 Road Championships : 2nd Overall

Vuelta al Ecuador The Vuelta al Ecuador is a cycling race held annually in Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Repu ...

: 9th Overall

Tour de Savoie Mont-Blanc The Tour de Savoie Mont-Blanc was a multi-day cycling race held annually in the departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie in France between 1999 and 2021. It was held as part of the UCI Europe Tour, as a category 2.2 The Union Cycliste Internati ...

: 9th Overall

Vuelta a Guatemala The ''Vuelta a Guatemala'' (Spanish for Tour of Guatemala) is a multi-day road bicycle racing stage race held annually and typically during late October and early November in several locations in Guatemala. The competition carries a UCI rating o ...

;2014 : 2nd Overall

;2015 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Vuelta de la Juventud de Colombia ::1st Stages 3 & 4 : 1st Stage 4

Clásico RCN The Clásico RCN (Spanish for ''RCN Classic'') is an annual cycling road race that takes place over many stages through different regions of Colombia during October. It is organized by the Colombian Cycling Federation. The event is sponsored b ...

;2016 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

Vuelta a Navarra The Vuelta a Navarra is a road cycling stage race held annually since 1941 in the Autonomous community of Navarra, Spain. It was part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing ...

::1st Stage 2 ;2017 : 2nd Overall

::1st

Young rider classification : 2nd

GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano The GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano is a road bicycle race held annually in Larciano, Italy. After 2005, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing Road ...

: 4th Overall

Vuelta a Castilla y León The Vuelta Ciclista a Castilla y León is a professional road bicycle stage race held in Castile and León, Spain. Since 2005, Vuelta a Castilla y León has been a part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicyc ...

: 6th Overall Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid ;2018 : 1st Jersey blue

Overall

::1st Stage 2 : 3rd Overall

Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali The Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali ( en, International Week of Coppi and Bartali), also known as Coppi e Bartali, is an Italian cycle road race. It is run typically in late March over five days in the Emilia-Romagna region of Ital ...

: 4th Overall Giro d'Italia ::1st Stage 8 ::Held Jersey white

after Stages 6–13 : 5th Circuito de Getxo ;2019 : 1st Jersey pink

Overall Giro d'Italia ::1st Stages 4 & 14 : 1st Jersey blue

Overall

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stage 2 : 3rd Overall

Vuelta a Burgos Vuelta Ciclista a Burgos is an elite professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the Burgos province of Spain. The men's Vuelta a Burgos has been a multi-day stage race as part of the UCI Europe Tour since 2005. In 2019, a multi-day wo ...

: 6th Overall

Vuelta a San Juan The Vuelta a San Juan is a road cycling race held in Argentina. The race consists of only a men's competition over seven stages. From 2017 to 2019, the race had a 2.1 The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world's governing body in the sp ...

: 9th Overall Tour Colombia ;2020 : 1st Stage 3

: 2nd Overall

::Held

after Stages 6–9 & 12 ::Held Jersey blue polkadot

after Stages 2–4 : 6th Overall

::Held

after Stages 18–19 :: Jersey red number

Combativity award The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numb ...

Stage 16 ;2021 : 1st Gold medal olympic

Road race,

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

: 1st

Overall Tour de Suisse ::1st Stage 5 : 3rd Overall

: 9th La Flèche Wallonne ;2022 : National Road Championships ::1st Ecuador NC

Time trial ::2nd Road race :

::1st

Mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing, Queen of the Mountains (QoM) is used. While the title may be given to the rider who achieves the highest p ...

::1st Stages 12, 14 & 20 : 2nd Overall Giro d'Italia ::Held Jersey pink

after Stages 14–19 : 2nd Overall

Volta a Catalunya The Volta a Catalunya (; en, Tour of Catalonia, es, Vuelta a Cataluña, link=no) is a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of three World Tour stage races in Spain, together with the Vuelta a España and the Tour of ...

::1st Stage 6

General classification results timeline

Major championships timeline

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carapaz, Richard 1993 births Cyclists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Ecuadorian Giro d'Italia stage winners Ecuadorian Vuelta a España stage winners Ecuadorian male cyclists Giro d'Italia winners Living people Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists of Ecuador Olympic gold medalists for Ecuador Olympic medalists in cycling People from Tulcán Tour de Suisse stage winners 21st-century Ecuadorian people