Team Ineos confirmed the signing of Giro d'Italia champion Richard Carapaz on Monday. The 26-year-old inked a three-year deal with the British WorldTour squad.
"I am very excited about joining the team. I feel this is a great opportunity for me to continue my development and growth as a rider, working with a team that continues to go from strength-to-strength, year after year," Carapaz said in a press release.
“I already know a lot of the riders on the team and I am really looking forward to working everyone at Team Ineos from next season."
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The Ecuadorian made history as the first rider from his country to win a Grand Tour in May, but an attempt on the Vuelta a España title was scuttled when he crashed in the Etten-Leur criterium in the Netherlands.
After the Giro d'Italia, Movistar confirmed that Carapaz and Nairo Quintana would leave the team and there was widespread speculation that Carapaz would move to Ineos to bolster the team's GrandTour arsenal alongside Geraint Thomas, Chris Froome, and Egan Bernal.
Arkea-Samsic confirmed the signing of Quintana on Monday.
"I believe I will fit into this group well and race to my full potential over the coming years. I want to achieve some great triumphs for Team Ineos," said Carapaz.
Carapaz, who turned pro with Movistar in 2017, is the first new signing announced for Team Ineos for the 2020 season and joins a South American contingent that includes Bernal, Ivan Sosa, and Sebastian Henao. Wout Poels, David de la Cruz, and Kenny Elissonde are among the riders moving on at the end of the year.
"We have been long time admirers of his talents as a bike rider and have followed his development closely over a number of years, as we have always marked him out as a potential member of our team," Brailsford said.
“He is obviously a fantastic climber but also has great versatility as he showed at the Giro earlier this year. He is still relatively young and I have no doubt he can develop and improve even further at Team Ineos."
