"I want to try and stay with the best in this race" - Richard Carapaz keen on testing form at Criterium du Dauphiné

Richard Carapaz has began his final steps of the preparation towards the Tour de France, the victory at the Mercan'Tour Classic was a good sign but he has already come very close to winning at the Criterium du Dauphiné where he looks to thrive.

"In the final stage of the second stage I saw that there was a good opportunity, a space opened up and I tried," the Ecuadorian told Cyclingpro.net at the start of stage 3. "I felt I had good legs and I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea. Overall, I think I had a good period of preparation and now I want to try and stay with the best in this race. Then, let's see how it goes day after day."

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The hilly finale to stage 2 saw Carapaz sprint to second place, an impressive result which puts forward his current good form. He heads into the time-trial and the mountains as an outsider for the GC win, and seems to be having the legs to chase that objective. “I think Wednesday's time trial will define many things, it's quite tough," he describes, what will be a crucial day for the GC battle. 

"I'm here to try and win a stage; then, if I'm able to fight for the general [classification], I will. The time trial? We have focused a lot on the details in recent weeks, also because there will also be an important one at the Tour de France. We've done a lot of tests and I think I'm prepared to do well in this specialty as well."

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