Ecuadorian rider solos to victory and moves up to 6th on GC
Richard Carapaz thumped his chest and pumped his fist in the air as he crossed the finish line, taking the victory on stage 11 at the Giro d’Italia.
When the peloton caught the break on the final categorized climb of the day, Richard seized his opportunity. He blasted past the bunch as the summit loomed and rode solo to the line.
“We left it very late to make the move today,” Richard said. “It was a very, very tough stage. And from the very first climb, I saw that so many people were suffering and I knew that I didn’t have good legs, but I chose the right moment because I knew that I could select the group and I could also make it to the finish. And it was almost like a time trial to make it all the way home today.”
The squad always knew today’s stage would be a tough one to win as it had the potential to reshuffle the general classification. Sport director Juanma Gárate predicted offensive racing today and knew that Richard’s fighting spirit would serve him well.
“He takes everything very seriously,” Juanma said of Richard. “He does everything in a very professional way. We started talking about the Giro already in September last year right after the Vuelta. The spring was not very good but he raised his hand and said, ‘I’m going to prepare for the Giro. I’m going to be good, so believe I’m going to be there.’ Obviously after yesterday’s TT, we lost a little bit more time than we expected but the determination he has is amazing and we didn’t have any doubts that he would keep on fighting.”
“On this last climb, Richard asked how steep it was,” Juanma said, “and we said it was regular until 1k before the top and to just follow your instinct and don’t stop yourself and just go for it. He decided to go. He had the momentum.”
Once Richard took off, the peloton never saw him again.
“It has been awhile [since my last win] so this is very, very special for me and extremely exciting,” Richard said. “Great work. And I want to dedicate it to my family and to my son, it’s his birthday today, and to my wife as well. I hope they enjoyed what I did today.”
Richard now sits in sixth place on the overall classification with plenty of racing yet to come.
