Mercan'Tour Classic win "good for confidence" as Richard Carapaz prepares for Tour de France return

Mercan'Tour Classic was a race of testing form for a few riders, including Richard Carapaz. Almost two months after his last race day at Itzulia Basque Country, the Olympic Champion returned to good form and has won the French classic.

“I am very happy to be back in the race. I was able to train well at home. I have good form," he told CyclingPro.net at the end of the day. Cofidis first pushed the pace on the Col de la Couillole, but EF picked up the pace in the following kilometers. Carapaz was clearly on a good day. “The team rode really well today. My teammates worked hard and we had the race under control."

He attacked with 7 kilometers to go on the final climb, dropping the rest of the competition and then holding off a surging Felix Gall to take the second win of his season. "This is not only a confidence boost for me, but also for the team. At the beginning of the season it wasn't working yet, but I worked hard and wanted to get a good result here. This is good for confidence.”

Clearly on the right path to the Tour de France, now Carapaz takes on the Criterium du Dauphiné which starts this weekend. “The Dauphiné is a nice race. The ambition is to perform well. It is now important to prepare ourselves well," the Ecuadorian concluded.