Richard Carapaz has revealed that he will be taking on both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France this season.
The Ecuadorian former Olympic champion, who won the Giro in 2019, is heading into his third season at EF Education-EasyPost and returning to the Italian Grand Tour for the first time since placing second overall there in 2022.
31-year-old Carapaz has made four Tour starts during his career, with third at the 2021 edition his best GC performance in France thus far. Last summer, he took home a mountain stage win and the mountain classification before heading to the Vuelta a España, where he finished fourth overall.
Carapaz is entering the final year of a three-year contract with EF and it looks as though he’ll ride for the GC at the Giro before going stage hunting at the Tour.
"The Tour is going to be a little different," Carapaz told Marca, comparing his 2025 Tour strategy to 2024. "We will be a little more relaxed in search of stages."
He's set to kick off his 2025 season in France at the Etoile de Bessèges early next month. His spring campaign will see him take on Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico, the Volta a Catalunya, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège before taking on the Giro, which kicks off in Albania on May 9.
Carapaz will likely also be hoping for a spot at the Road World Championships, which takes place on a challenging, climber-friendly course in Rwanda.
Last season he pulled out of the Worlds to be with his daughter, who had undergone surgery, while earlier in the summer he didn't defend his Olympic title after the Ecuadorian federation opted for Jhonatan Narváez instead.
"Now there is enough time to rethink [the scoring system] and take a serious team to the Worlds," Carapaz said. "We have almost a complete squad of five or six riders.
"The only thing we ask is that they plan and are serious because the truth is that this federation leaves a lot to be desired."
