Major World Championships contender ruled out - Standout Tour de France and Vuelta rider won't race in Montreal
CyclingSaturday, 19 September 2026 at 16:39
Richard Carapaz will not start the elite road race at the Montreal 2026 World Championships. The Ecuadorian, listed among the riders expected to feature at the Worlds, has decided to withdraw from the race scheduled for Sunday, September 27th after assessing his condition with medical staff and his team.
The absence is a major setback for Ecuador, which loses one of its leading cards for a race that looks especially demanding. The tricolor squad will still line up with Jhonatan Narváez, another rider capable of targeting a strong result on the Canadian course.
Carapaz hit the season’s final stretch in solid form from the Grand Tours. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion — the race was held in 2021 — showed a good level at both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España 2026, cementing his status as one of Ecuador’s key names for the Worlds.
His withdrawal, therefore, is not about selection or performance, but about prioritising recovery. The rider himself explained his reasons and made it clear that, at this moment, he considers it more important to look after his health and avoid any risk that could jeopardise his continuity in the professional peloton.
Richard Carapaz is out of the World Championships
Carapaz prioritises recovery
The Ecuadorian reported that his current health status was analysed in detail, following medical guidance and considering his team’s view. After that assessment, the conclusion was that the prudent choice was to skip the all-out effort demanded by a World Championship road race.
“The most responsible thing to do is to put my health first and opt for a calm recovery, to avoid putting the rest of my career at risk,” Carapaz explained when announcing his decision.
The withdrawal comes after a season in which the Ecuadorian again proved he can compete at the highest level. His presence in Montreal was expected to bring experience and tactical options to a national team that must now adjust its plans for the race.
Ecuador line up reserve rider
The Ecuadorian Cycling Federation already had a reserve in place to cover any absence. All indications are that Jonathan Klever Caicedo will take the spot left by Carapaz and complete Ecuador’s lineup for the road race.
With Narváez as a key reference and Caicedo drafted in late, Ecuador will face the Worlds with a different lineup than initially planned.
The absence of Carapaz does, however, leave the team without one of its most experienced riders and a natural leader for a race of this nature.
For the Olympic champion, the aim now is to recover without rushing the timeline. The priority, as he himself noted, is to return to competition in the best condition and avoid a Montreal start that could compromise his future.
Javier RampeCycling Journalist
Javier Rampe is a sports analyst with more than 15 years of experience. He holds a degree in Economics from the University of Rome and a Diploma in Business Studies from the University of Cádiz. Despite coming from an academic background not particularly associated with cycling, his passion for both cycling and journalism was instilled in him from an early age. He grew up following Miguel Indurain and José María “El Chava” Jiménez. An admirer of Michael Robinson’s communication style and journalistic approach, he was inspired to pursue a degree in Journalism at the University of Buenos Aires, which he is currently completing.
He has always maintained close ties with the worlds of sport and culture, contributing from a young age to sports blogs and film and music review websites. His work has appeared in media outlets such as Cope, RAI, and Radio Con Vos. He is also the founder of the cycling-focused podcast El Contraanálisis and the football interview channel Días De Fútbol, dedicated to conversations with professional footballers.
In addition to his work at Ciclismoaldia, Javier has interviewed some of the most influential figures in modern cycling, including Alejandro Valverde and Tadej Pogačar, as well as key voices in anti-doping policy such as Alberto Yelmo, David Varillas, and Marcelo Milano. Marcos Maynar, in relation to the ‘Operación Ílex’ case, is also among the personalities he has interviewed. He enjoys conducting in-depth analysis of the cycling ecosystem and has attended major events such as Strade Bianche, the Vuelta a Andalucía, and Itzulia, as well as numerous national cyclo-cross races.
His background in economics, combined with extensive experience in marketing and corporate communications, drives his continuous study of positioning strategies and ensures that he always keeps his focus on crafting compelling and evocative headlines.
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- oh, and one more thing - BTW I’m not a guy that is demeaning towards women. I have a wife, same woman for 23 years, 2 daughters in college. all are beautiful, and that is not just my eyes. they really are. and accomplished. studying for medicine, 2nd aerospace engineering, and my wife has an MBA from University of Chicago. look that up, it is legit. so I showed this to my wife thread to my wife and she rolled her eyes at the comments of men on here. she said Sweeney also created a lingerie line, VERY AFFORDABLE, and she did it because too many curvy women have a hard time finding good fitting undergarments at a fair price. she wanted something for these body types. which, is a body type 2 of the 3 women in my life have. so, this lady is being criticized by women for not being empowering, while she takes her own risk to create something for women that have nothing, or less than ideal. and she is doing it at an affordable price point rather than taking advantage of her fame. the line is called SYRN I think, and it is designed so curvy women can be comfortable and not have to spend an arm and a leg. seems fairly empowering towards women to me.mij19-09-2026
- so maybe before looking at someone and criticizing them based on looks alone, do some research and understand the human. She was considered a favorite for wakeboarding in the X games. She was a high school athlete, not necessarily a stand out, but she was considered athletic. early in her time in hollywood she also fought MMA, winning events, and even beat mean. I am not an MMA fan, but it is a tough sport. you don’t compete in this and win, and not be athletic.mij19-09-2026
- if it was written about the UK, I would still question it. if you are showing 14 rankings, and someone is at 10, then how is that a powerhouse? granted there are 80 or so countries on the planet. so 10/80 is really good. but most of the other countries don’t field a team. so I again question how 10/14 makes them a “powerhouse”mij19-09-2026
- did you see my other post? does anyone that looks at this video, and formed an opinion on looks alone realize: 1 - she was an athlete. she was considered a front runner for the wakeboard in the X games. wakeboarding is super tough actually, takes a lot of athleticism. 2 - she gave it up to become an actress, an award winning actress. you do not get that on looks alone. hollywood is littered with beautiful failures. she gave up being perhaps tops in one area to rise to the top of another. 3 - she was valedictorian of her high school class, #1. she taught herself russian, was on the math and robotics club. 4 - she wanted to be an actress by the age of 13. how many 13 year olds have accomplished their life long goal, with such success? you don’t do that with looks alone. 5 - she is worth $50 million. again, the internet is filled with more beautiful people that are worth $50. you don’t get to be worth this kinda money being stupid, or on looks alone. I have never seen a sydney sweeney movie or tv show. I am not a super fan of her. but, before posting something critical, and making that post based on LOOKS ALONE IN A VIDEO - I do some research. as for Demi, she uses her body to make money. and says women should be empowered and be seen as more than just a hottie. well if Sydney was ugly and did 1 - 5 above, what would Demi write about her??? she would be a hero. her comment is ignorant and pugnacious. Sydney can’t help she looks the way she does. if we are not supposed to hold someone’s looks against them based on skin color, “ugliness”, weight (lol PFP), etc, why is she doing so because she is beautiful???mij19-09-2026
- exactly, looks are not a talent. if they were all of the women you mentioned would be more accomplished that Sydney. and again, you are judging her on looks alone. so progressive of you. maybe do some research on someone before you form an opinion just by looking at them.mij19-09-2026
- I disagree with your opinion you cannot prevent objectification and almost every study and experiment goes in the same sense. The less you are exposed to a certain type of behaviour the less you will imitate it. If advertising, media, pop stars, hollywood, celebrities , heroes, politicians, leaders, etc. adopt certain behaviour and not others, a large portion of the population tends to be influenced in a similar direction. Very few people continuously fight against the current. Every time you show something borderline or controversial is ok or « normal » you normalise it. 30 years ago, people would have been shocked to hear some of the language used by all these people today, now it’s mostly just annoying, and only for older generations, nobody even pays attention to avoid it in front of small kids. Today it’s any tiktok challenge that turns viral 20y ago it was thongs sticking out of jeans, now in many places its preteens are tanning themselves with strings at the pool and beach and nobody blinks an eye except the guy in the bushes with glasses and trenchcoat. 60 years ago, it was how (mostly) women dressed. 150 years ago it was slavery We are all influenced by what we are shownJumpyjohn19-09-2026
- you are aware of her intellectual capabilities? you look at her and assume because of her looks she isn’t smart??? wow, that is really prejudicial of you. there are hot women all over the internet worth about $50. She is worth $50 million. You don’t become worth $50 million with a nice body alone. Are you aware she graduated # 1 in her high school class, valedictorian? but you call her not smart. She was on the math club, robotics club, and taught herself Russian as she wanted to learn another language. she has won acting awards; you don’t get to be a good actor by being stupid. as for the athletic comments people have made about her, she was considered a candidate for the X games in wakeboarding. That takes a tremendous amount of skill. WTF have you done with your life? Where did you graduate in high school? what are you known for besides being a troll on a cycling site lol. it isn’t that I’m in the Sydney Sweeney fan club. I’ve never seen her perform. It is just amazing to me that a beautiful young lady, that is smart, accomplished, wealthy and frankly hasn’t done anything wrong is told by ladies that preach empowerment that she is not empowered to legally make money with her body. even though let’s be honest, the only reason Demi makes money, is because she has a body that allows her to do so.mij19-09-2026
- I’m sure Jurgen is loving this article. PL doesn’t even stop with riders.mij19-09-2026
- yeah I was waiting to see what was going to happen. allegedly at the time Remco and his camp was very against the merger.mij19-09-2026
- I think you’re mixing up things which aren’t really relatedJumpyjohn19-09-2026
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