"It's a lack of respect... There is a lot of arrogance" - Fired up Richard Carapaz takes on Ben O'Connor and Decathlon after Vuelta yellow card drama
Cycling
There has been no shortage of fallout from a dramatic stage 11 at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana and barbs continue to be traded between Richard Carapaz and EF Education-EasyPost on one side and race leader Ben O'Connor and Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team on the other.
It all comes back to when the breakaway had formed and Decathlon put themselves across the road to attempt to block any counters, as teams do in almost every race. Sadly however, on this occasion, Richard Carapaz was pushed into a ditch, resulting in fury from EF Education Easy-Post boss Jonathan Vaughters on X afterwards.
After lashing out at the decision of the UCI to dish out yellow cards to his teammates, O'Connor was forced to delete his X account on Wednesday night. In his pre-stage 12 interview however, the Aussie wasn't backing down from the fight.
"I really think we did absolutely nothing wrong," the Australian insisted again in conversation with Eurosport. "We’ve spoken to EF together and everything is clear – there was zero animosity. Geoffrey Bouchard really did absolutely nothing. I don’t really understand the sanctioning with the other boys in the team either because we really didn’t do anything wrong... He [Carapaz] may have hit the pedal or the wheel, but my team-mate [Lafay] did not move at all. He was there on the left – he didn’t swing left, he was just riding. It’s not very fair, to be honest."
Now though, Richard Carapaz himself has hit back, refuting O'Connor of harmony between Decathlon and EF. "There are many ways of defending a jersey but the way they're doing it is very sad to me because it's a lack of respect. I can't judge it, everybody does what they do," says the Ecuadorian to Eurosport, noting how he's yet recieve and apology. "There's been nothing, and that's the worst thing, you know. We're waiting for that to happen. If you make a mistake, you should at least speak about it and say that you're sorry, it wasn't intentional. There is a lot of arrogance, I haven't heard anything else from them. Respect is being lost in the peloton and things like that can't go on."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
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- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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