Giro d'Italia win the goal for Richard Carapaz: "I make no secret of the fact that I am very ambitious"

Richard Carapaz is a rider that continues to be very motivated to perform in the Grand Tours and he comes into the Giro d'Italia with high ambitions. The leader of EF Education-EasyPost has had very modest results over the spring, but believes his slow build-up has been ideal towards his return to the Corsa Rosa.

"I missed it so much, I couldn't wait to come back. I asked my team because it's my race. I always have extra motivation. The Giro suits me, my style. I make no secret of the fact that I am very ambitious," Carapaz told Gazzetta dello Sport. "I always start with the ambition to achieve the best. That is to say, to hold the Trofeo Senza Fine aloft one more time".

The 2019 winner faces tough competition, and he clearly outlines Primoz Roglic and Juan Ayuso as his main rivals for the upcoming month of racing: "Primoz has the best record of all the participants in the grand tours, and Juan has the youth and the talent to think big. They are two great riders and it is up to me to overtake them. I am in good shape, and then the race will put everyone in their place".

Without Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard at the start line, the race is open and won't have a 'super team' controlling the mountain days, which favours the Ecuadorian's aggressive and explosive style of racing. Naturally, he is also hoping that bad luck doesn't derail another opportunity to finish on the podium of a Grand Tour.

"Sometimes luck was not on my side, like in the 2023 Tour, when I crashed in the first stage and had to abandon. But often I was the main character. Think of the last Tour: a won stage, a day in the yellow jersey, the polka dot jersey and the super combative," he continues. "And in the Vuelta I went for the general classification and finished fourth, less than a minute from the podium. I fought every day and I still have a good taste in my mouth".

Georg Steinhauser, Jefferson Alexander Cepeda and Hugh Carthy will be part of his support crew for the mountains. "I have prepared myself well to be at the top in May. It is first and foremost a personal challenge and if I have ridden a Giro d'Italia three times with great results, I do not want the next one to be an exception. The team supports me 100 percent and I am happy about that. The first twelve days of the race are classics, but the third week will be decisive".