Richard Carapaz wins with power at Giro and warns rivals - "I don’t plan on taking it easy"

Richard Carapaz was one of the dark horses coming into this Giro d'Italia and he has certainly showed that this Wednesday afternoon. EF Education-EasyPost don't have the team to put UAE under a lot of pressure, but the Ecuadorian has launched a warning shot to his rivals both with his legs and his words.

“It was a very difficult stage. On the first climb, so many men were suffering, then I knew I had great legs," Carapaz admits in a post-race interview. It was then planned with the team that there would eventually be an attack, and luckily for the American team, Lidl-Trek did a whole heap of work to reel in the breakaway.

"Then it was just a matter of waiting for the moment to attack". This happened with 9 kilometers to go, close to the bottom of the final climb, and he took advantage of the doubts in his rival's minds to respond. It was an explosive attack with no-one in the wheel, which he took full advantage of.

"I chose the right moment and luckily I was able to hold on until the finish. It was almost a time trial until the finish.” This then saw him build a 30-second gap, which came down to 10 at the finish line, but nevertheless enough to climb three positions in the overall classification.

“I want to dedicate the victory to my son, who is celebrating his birthday, and my wife. I hope they enjoyed what I did today". Certainly, it is a day of celebration for the American team that hasn't been having the easiest season.

He is now 1:56 minutes away from the pink jersey of Isaac del Toro, to whom he launched a warning for the upcoming mountain stages: "And I don’t plan on taking it easy, I’m going to keep fighting until the end of the Giro.”