Richard Carapaz got his EF Education-EasyPost career off to a winning start as he claimed victory at the Ecuadorian Championships road race on Sunday.
The Olympic champion’s winter training was interrupted by a tonsillectomy in December, but he was quickly up to speed in his seasonal debut in Tulcán, where he outsprinted Jefferson Cepeda (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) to claim the first Ecuadorian road race title of his career.
“Today’s win gives us a sign that we’re working well and that we’re doing the hard work," Carapaz said. “This was one of the harder off-seasons that I’ve had because there were a lot of complications.
“There was the operation on my tonsils, so I started everything later. Honestly, I’m really happy because now we can enjoy all that we’ve done. Getting to wear such a beautiful jersey in front of the world is really special.”
Carapaz had EF Education-EasyPost teammates Alexander Cepeda and Jonathan Caicedo for company in the 180km race, and the WorldTour trio quickly set about dictating the terms of engagement when the peloton fragmented on the opening laps.
Fresh from winning a third national time trial title the previous day, Caicedo put in a long shift at the head of the race on Carapaz’s behalf, whittling down the sizeable break. By the time his work was done, only three riders remained in contention, with Carapaz and his teammate Alexander Cepeda joined by Jefferson Cepeda at the head of the race.
Carapaz attacked on the final lap, where Jefferson Cepeda put up fierce resistance, but the pre-race favourite finally shook off his rival in the dash for the line, while Alexander Cepeda came home in third place for his second bronze medal in as many days after his performance in the time trial.
“The work that Jonathan and Alexander put in was really important," Carapaz said. “We met in the morning just before the start. We met and we had this objective.
“They knew my intention was to win and on top of this we talked about having two of us on the podium and how great that would be.”
Carapaz signed for EF Education-EasyPost this winter after three seasons at Ineos Grenadiers, and the 29-year-old has made the Tour de France the centrepiece of his season. His full Spring schedule has yet to be announced, but it is expected that he will line up at the Trofeo Laigueglia on March 1, while he has also confirmed that he will place a particular emphasis on the Ardennes Classics.
