Ecuador’s brightest star Richard Carapaz is back on the bike after a complicated spring. The 32-year-old performed at a high level to finish 18th at Tirreno-Adriatico and 10th overall at Volta a Catalunya with aim on Giro d'Italia, only to be ruled out of the race by a health indisposition requiring a surgery.
The EF Education-EasyPost leader had built the first half of his season around returning to the Italian Grand Tour, a race that has defined much of his career: overall winner in 2019, second in 2022, and third last year. However, his assault on the 109th edition ended before it began after undergoing surgery on April 29 to remove a perineal cyst.
Although he initially hoped to recover in time to start, the wound did not heal quickly enough for a full return to training. In the end, the American squad ruled him out of the race, a setback the rider himself called "a complete disappointment".
After 24 days off the road without training, the rider is now cleared to work normally. With his season reset, his focus turns firmly to the Tour de France, which starts in Barcelona this summer.
Although his race programme is not officially set, as reported by Domestique, all signs point to a June return to the peloton. The Tour de Suisse, which is cut down to only five stages this year, is emerging as a likely option. There, Carapaz could test himself against some of the world's biggest names including Tadej Pogacar.
A simulatenously raced Route d’Occitanie (2.1), is another possibility to regain race rhythm with its traditionally challenging stages.
Richard Carapaz claims his super-combativity award
Full focus on back-up plan
Despite this setback, Tour de France return appears to be a viable alternative to Carapraz's original plans. After all, the Ecuadorian enjoyed an excellent edition two years, winning a stage, the mountain classification, most combative rider's award and wearing yellow jersey for a day.
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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- A mindset that reminds me of Tim Declerq. I loved watching that guy just pound away the kilometers, hours at the front, holding an entire breakaway in check on his own. Bjerg seems like a similar guy. Curling, the team sport.RidesHills04-11-2026
- He will be lol, but he can still win on the climbs hahaawp04-11-2026
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- He's not going to win the TdF. Maybe if they make every single stage a TT he could win. But I still believe Tadej would just sharpen his TT skills and win.mij04-11-2026
- You beat me to it. Should he make a full recovery (likely) and go light early in the year. One, two, three. Don't ask me, I don't give a damn. Should he be on a Feel-Like-He's-Fixin'-to-Die High.Yepperoni04-11-2026
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- I'll say clean sweep all grand tourZamorano04-11-2026
- And the place he calls home is in Slovenia with his parents.RidesHills04-11-2026
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