Richard Carapaz doesn't put down his weapons yet ahead of a brutal stage 20: "It's the kind of racing I like"
CyclingFriday, 11 September 2026 at 23:00
Richard Carapaz was on the offensive during 2026 Vuelta a Espana stage 19. The Ecuadorian attacked from the group of favourites with more than 80 kilometers to go, but his move was quickly neutralized by other GC contenders and ultimately the overall standings saw no changes ahead of the final weekend.
Thanks to a flat first half, its taken a very long time to form a breakaway on Friday. For EF Education-EasyPost, this went according to their plan with Darren Rafferty part of a group which was riding a little more than a minute ahead of the peloton which controlled the situation.
"We came off the bus with that idea," Carapaz told Eurosport. "We wanted to go for the stage. That was the plan for today, to try to control the race, but in the end it was very difficult."
Attack time
Then finally on the Puento del Viento, Carapaz unleashed his attack, looking to turn the GC situation upside down. With the help of Rafferty, the group which came together around Carapaz gained up to 20 seconds.
However the teams of riders currently on the podium, including red jersey Enric Mas did not leave Carapaz any breathing room and the attack was soon over. "On the second climb I tried to close the gap, but it was very difficult," Carapaz said. "We tried. I think we raced very positively today."
The race is not over
Then the final ascent to Peñas Blancas came, however the top-5 of the general classification neutralized each other and ultimately crossed the finish line together, more than five minutes behind stage winner. This leaves Carapaz in 4th position, more than two minutes behind Felix Gall, with only one more chance to turn the situation around.
"I have nothing to prove," Carapaz argued, looking back at his two Tour de France stage wins and a polka dot jersey.
Richard Carapaz wins at the 2026 Tour de France
Still, the Ecuadorian is optimistic that there will be something possible on the race's final mountain test. The 186-kilometer stage with four consecutive ascents, culminating atop special category Collado del Alguacil could catch any rider off-guard. And Carapaz hopes to prevail in this test of endurance and tenacity.
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"Tomorrow is a different stage," he noted. "There are more climbs one after another, which is the kind of racing I like."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Also, Michael Matthews. What is it with him and this race? He's never placed worse than 9th, I think, and did terribly today, by his own standards, meaning he finished outside the top 5 for only the 2nd time, at 6th. How does he do this, at this race, when he is so invisible at so many other races? I find this totally fascinating. Good for him!RidesHills11-09-2026
- The past few years, I've been on the ground in Quebec, but I missed it this year. Watching on TV for the new circuit was interesting. Congratulations to Evenepoel on his win, the right strategy and the legs to do it, clinical and excellent. Really superbly done - and he didn't get pissed off along the way, he just took the race apart at just the right time! This is going to be a hell of a world championship. Bummer about Ayuso's crash, I didn't see what happened in detail, but I hope he's ok.RidesHills11-09-2026
- It looked like a camera bike was close in front of Dunbar at one stage too. In general, they have tended to stay too close to riders before .oving off.Hills3311-09-2026
- @wrsty Me too! @Mistermaumau I think you’re taking wrsty’s comment too seriously. It was made completely in jest, just standard fan banter hoping one of the original underdogs (pre-Pogi leaving the Vuelta) pulls it off. It’s not that deep, wrsty is just passionately cheering on Mas. No need to overanalyse it, let him or her have his fun.anonymouscyclist11-09-2026
- The camera motorbike was rdiculously close in front of him all the time of his attack and as soon as Dunbar caught up it pulled away. Why?Quebrantahuesos11-09-2026
- 2nd near miss. Finishing 2:13 behind Jakob Omrzel on Calar Alto does not count
Rafionain-Glas11-09-2026 - A great win by Dunbar. I thought he was done when they caught him after his first solo attempt. To climb like that and so visibly break Buitrago’s mental efforts was amazing to watch. Both of them clearly went beyond what their bodies wanted them to do, with Dunbar coming out on top. Fabulous racing in the breakaway group.RidesHills11-09-2026
- He was almost never one to attack from far away. Back in the day his wins came from sprints near the end of stages, where he could count on getting a time gap and time bonuses. Enough of those and they added up to a solid win. He’s never been one to solo away. Most people don’t. That’s why Pogačar, who can also sprint at the end of a stage like Roglič, is so rare.RidesHills11-09-2026
- This is why Pogi solo wins are still better. You need ~ 2 minutes to win, you dont attack in the last 2 k, you attack at least 10k to go or the previous mountain with satellite riders. Dont make token attacks just for the sake of showing. Roglic has now lost a Giro, TDF and now a Vuelta because he was too conservativeabstractengineer11-09-2026
- there is a certain risk level in cycling that cannot be avoided, but racing reckless and risking other riders' life (health at the least) can certainly be considered mentally ill!Ketterechts11-09-2026
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