Richard Carapaz has been near the top of the cycling world for many years now and his aggressive style of racing continues to make him one of the most popular riders in the peloton. He has revealed his main races for the first two thirds of the 2025 season, which include a GC run at the Giro d'Italia, and chasing stage wins at the Tour de France.
The Ecuadorian will start his season at the Etoile de Bessèges in early February to get some racing rhythm in the legs, and will then begin his important part of the season at Strade Bianche. As most Giro contenders, he will race the Volta a Catalunya as the final stage-race before, however he will also have Tirreno-Adriatico inbetween, providing him with plenty chances to succeed.
The 31-year old will then take on an altitude training camp and race Liège-Bastogne-Liège before racing the Giro, the same schedule followed by Tadej Pogacar last year. At the Giro, his presence had already been highly hinted at, but is now confirmed as he aims for the overall classification. Since joining EF Education-EasyPost he had seemed to lose his competitive edge as a GC rider in Grand Tours, but at last year's Vuelta a España he rode to a strong fourth place.
Then he will take some rest and race the Tour de France, this time around chasing stage wins as was the case in 2024, where he managed to complete the Grand Tour stage win trilogy. “Compared to last year, things will be a little different. We will start with less pressure, more relaxed, hunting for stages," SpazioCiclismo quotes.
Afterwards Carapaz already has under eye the World Championships, likely as his final goal of the season. In hilly and at-altitude Rwanda, he will stand good chances of fighting for a top result. However he leaves a message to the country's federation.
“We have plenty of time to reorganize the scoring system and bring a good team to the World Championship. We have a complete team with five or six riders. The only thing I ask is that there is planning and that they are serious because honestly this federation leaves a lot to be desired