Richard Carapaz soars to comeback triumph at Tour de Romandie: "I took advantage of the work of INEOS Grenadiers"

Richard Carapaz hadn't taken any big win since leaving INEOS Grenadiers at the end of 2022, but today he took advantage of his former team's work at the Tour de Romandie to take a strong win in the race's queen stage.

“I took advantage of the work of INEOS Grenadiers, who made the race very hard. Then I made a good attack, which allowed me to stay in front until the finish," Carapaz said in a post-race interview. It was a hard day with a constant high pace throughout the many climbs, a tactic deployed by the British team to - successfully - wear out yellow jersey Juan Ayuso. Carapaz followed Rodríguez wheel both times the Spaniard accelerated in the final ascent, in the final 5 kilometers, and looked to be the strongest on the day.

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Tour de Romandie: Richard Carapaz wins queen stage in style as Juan Ayuso explodes in the yellow jersey; Carlos Rodríguez the new reace leader

With 4 kilometers to go a move of three including him went off the front, but Carapaz still had it in him to accelerate once again: “Carlos [Rodríguez] and I knew that Lipowitz was the fastest of the three of us, so we had to try from far away. What was also an advantage was that I already knew the finale of this stage. I also did this climb in 2017.”

The strategy worked, and the Ecuadorian took his first World Tour win since the 2022 Vuelta a España - and his first for EF Education-EasyPost. Although it only brought him up to seventh in the overall classification, the win comes as a big motivation to conclude the spring.

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Gritted teeth. Heart on his sleeve. Total commitment. Our Ecuadorian eagle showed he could fly today. 💕 📸 @gettyimages

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