Richard Carapaz made history on stage 3 of the Tour de France, becoming the first rider from Ecuador to wear the yellow jersey in the French Grand Tour.
The EF Education-EasyPost rider completed impeccable teamwork and positioning through the crash-marred closing kilometres in Turin. He finished 14th behind sprint winner Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) in the front group of about 60 riders that avoided a crash with 2.2km to go.
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) and Carapaz started stage 3 equal on time, with Pogačar in the yellow jersey thanks to better stage placing during stage 1 and 2.
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Carapaz needed to pull back 14 placing on Pogačar to take yellow. The Slovenian finished 38th, Evenepoel was also well down in 40th place, and Vingegaard finished 68th, meaning Carapaz was suddenly in the yellow jersey.
"It's a surprise for us. We thought it would be difficult, but today, I felt good and think it was worth the risk. I had to play for it and had to try to go for it. The team has done incredible work until the end. I'm really happy," Carapaz said after pulling on the yellow jersey.
“Taking the yellow jersey was the goal that we set in the team meeting and on the bus this morning. We knew it was a dangerous day because the first sprint of the Tour de France is nervous and tricky.
“The team rode really well. Alberto Bettiol, for example, was there and did a great pull at three kilometres to go. Afterwards, Marijn van den Berg sprinted alongside me to keep me safe. It was a team effort.”
Girmay made history as the first Black African to win a Tour de France stage, and it was a huge moment for Carapaz and Ecuador.
Carapaz won the 2019 Giro d’Italia and has now worn the leader’s jersey in all three Grand Tours. “It's a dream for me to wear yellow at the best race in the world because of all the respect I have for the Tour,” he said.
“This success means a lot to me. I've worked a lot to come to this point. It's also a big moment for Ecuador because there are very few of us in the WorldTour.
Carapaz and EF Education-EasyPost lowered their Tour de France ambitions and wanted to target stage victories after he crashed with teammate Alberto Bettiol and needed five stitches on a series of mouth wounds. Now they have the yellow jersey and a new game plan.
“After Suisse, I had prep, which wasn't as consistent as I had wished. I had to stop for a few days,” Carapaz explained.
“The Tour de France is hard if you're not in optimal shape. Yet the previous months were good enough, so I thought I could still get it in good shape. On Sunday, I did well, and that created quite a bit of confidence. From here, I'm going to take the race day by day.
Carapaz, Pogačar, Evenepoel and Vingegaard remain on the same time, with Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) at 21 seconds, with a slew of other potential GC contenders.
Stage 4 from Pinerolo, south of Turin to Valloire in the French Alps is only 139.6 km long but climbs to Sestriere, crosses the Col de Montgenevre and then the 2,642m Col du Galibier before the 20km descent to the finish.
EF Education-EasyPost will have to try to control the attacks, and then Carapaz will have to try to finish with his big-name GC rivals.
“Of course, we're going to do our best to be up to the task and fight for the best for the yellow jersey. If it's not possible, we're going to try and be the best among the humans,” he said.
"Tomorrow will be a big day. It will be complicated. I'm going to try and give everything. I will try and enjoy every moment in the yellow jersey."
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