It is official: Carapaz aims for GC in Giro and stage wins in Tour

Richard Carapaz has revealed the general outline of his 2025 program. Indeed, as rumors had it, his program includes the Giro d'Italia as his primary goal. The Ecuadorian already won the Italian stage race once in 2019. Carapaz will also perform in the Tour de France and hunt for stages.

La Gazzetta Dello Sport previously reported that EF Education-EasyPost's 31-year-old GC leader would be at the start in Albania. Now, it is confirmed. It means Carapaz will do four grand tours in a row. Indeed, in 2024, he won the Tour de France, taking the 17th stage and the mountain jersey. Later, in the Vuelta a España, he finished fourth in the GC.

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Carapaz during the 2024 Vuelta

Carapaz criticizes Ecuadorian cycling federation 

Carapaz announced during a press conference that he would not participate in the national championships in Ecuador. He criticized the Ecuadorian Cycling Federation (FEC) for announcing the routes late, even though he had already planned his season.

Carapaz will ride the Tour of Catalonia and Liège-Bastogne-Liège ahead of the Giro. Tirreno-Adriatico and Strade Bianche are also options. Regarding the Tour, he indicated that his approach will differ from that of 2024. "We will go with a more relaxed strategy and aim for stage wins," the climber said. He also expressed dissatisfaction with the FEC's World Cup and Olympic Games qualification system, which prevented him from participating in the 2024 Olympic road race. Jhonatan Narváez was able to go.

Carapaz called for the federation to review its selection policy. "There is enough time to assemble a serious team for the World Championships. We have a strong group of five to six riders. All we ask is good planning and professionalism because the federation leaves much to be desired," Carapaz said. In any case, dar Carapaz is eager to go to the World Championship this year.

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Carapaz won the polka dot jersey at the 2024 Tour

The Giro will not be easy

Carapaz's big goal this year is the Giro, where he targets the GC overall. He skipped the past two editions of the Italian stage race, but he will compete again this year. However, he will face a lot of intense competition. For example, he will be up against several other former winners, including Primož Roglič, Nairo Quintana, and Jai Hindley, all of whom will be at the start on May 9. In addition, numerous other big names have already been confirmed, including Wout van Aert, Olav Kooij, Adam Yates, Juan Ayuso, David Gaudu, Daniel Felipe Martínez, and Mikel Landa.

In any case, his fourth place in last year's Vuelta must have pleased him. The 2022 Giro was the last time he had managed a good GC. Then he finished second behind Hindley. Only in stage 20, he lost the pink jersey. In 2023 and 2024, the Ecuadorian rider did not finish in the top ten, but he did win several stages. He will try this proven formula again at the Tour.

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