"My form will arrive late, but I will give my best" - Richard Carapaz enters Tour de France with realistic expectations

If you've watched the most recent series of Tour de France: Unchained on Netflix, you will have heard EF Education-EasyPost boss Jonathan Vaughters lay some heavy praise on Richard Carapaz. Although it hasn't properly clicked for the Ecuadorian at the team just yet, could the 2024 Tour de France be the race it does?

"I’m now back, working hard, and not only prepared, but also excited for this Tour," the former Giro d'Italia winner and Tour de France podium finisher, explains in a pre-Tour de France preview on the official website of the EF Education-EasyPost team. "The Tour is the Tour, and it’s always emotional."

Given recent troubles however, Carapaz admits that a general classification fight might not be for him this time around. Nevertheless, the 31-year-old is determined. "After my crash at Suisse, I got sick. My form will arrive late, but I will give my best for this Tour de France," he explains. "My preparations before the crash were very good. The first week will be very hard, but I will try to get through it as best as possible. Winning a stage is super important. In the last editions, I was very close, so winning one would be very important for me, but also to the team and everyone who prepared for that moment. It would be the result of hard work and perseverance."

Carapaz led the general classification charge of the EF Education-EasyPost at last year's Tour de France and as mentioned, a lot of faith was put in the Ecuadorian by his team boss. Sadly though, things quickly turned sour as a crash on the opening stage ended his race after just one day. "Last year was tough. I had to go home," Carapaz recalls. "This year we’re going for it again. Everyone around me knows how much I’ve worked for this."

Joined by the likes of Alberto Bettiol, Neilson Powless, Ben Healy, Marijn van den Berg, Rui Costa, Sean Quinn and Stefan Bissegger, Carapaz is also confident in the strength of the collective within the team. "We have a strong, versatile team. We can win on all sorts of terrain," he concludes. "The Tour is the best race in the world. It creates many emotions and that’s what makes it special."