“This wasn’t part of the plan” - Former Giro d’Italia winner Richard Carapaz faces race against time as surgery just weeks before start threatens to derail Maglia Rosa bid
Cycling
Richard Carapaz’s Giro d’Italia preparation has been thrown into uncertainty at the worst possible moment, with the Ecuadorian confirming he has undergone surgery just five weeks before the race he has built his season around.
The former winner, who returned to the podium as recently as last year, revealed the news himself, outlining both the timing of the procedure and the immediate shift in focus towards recovery ahead of the May start.
“It wasn’t part of the plan, but it was handled in the best possible way. Last night I underwent a procedure for a perineal condition. Everything went as expected and successfully. From today, I’m fully focused on recovery and getting back to my best level ahead of the Giro,” he captioned an image of himself in a hospital bed on Instagram.
A disrupted build-up at a critical moment
For Carapaz, the issue is not simply the operation itself, but when it arrives. The final weeks before a Grand Tour are typically reserved for sharpening form, locking in climbing condition, and fine-tuning race intensity. Instead, his preparation has been forced into a recovery phase, removing the opportunity to build momentum through racing or structured training blocks.
That shift comes on top of an already uneven start to his 2026 season. A delayed return to racing and a relatively quiet Volta a Catalunya campaign, where he finished tenth overall despite a more encouraging showing on the Queralt stage, had already left him playing catch-up compared to his rivals.
Now, with time lost at the most decisive point of his build-up, the challenge becomes not just reaching the start line, but doing so at a level capable of competing over three weeks.
Carapaz finished 3rd at the 2025 Giro
Giro ambitions under pressure after 2025 near miss
The timing carries added weight given Carapaz’s recent history at the race. Just twelve months ago, he was firmly in the fight for overall victory, ultimately finishing on the podium after a sustained battle that slipped away late on. That performance reinforced his status as one of the Giro’s most consistent contenders, adding to his breakthrough overall win earlier in his career.
It is that pedigree which makes this setback more significant. Carapaz is not targeting a stage win or opportunistic result, but a return to the top of the general classification against a field expected to include some of the strongest stage racers in the sport.
With rivals arriving off uninterrupted preparations and structured build-ups, even a small deficit in readiness can prove decisive across three weeks.
Carapaz’s focus is now entirely on compressing his recovery into the limited time available, with the aim of reaching the Giro at full capacity. Whether that proves achievable will define not just his race, but the trajectory of his entire season.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 2visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- You don't gift grand tours as it has come to light that Jonas has come to regret doing such.
Front24213-11-2026 - Exactly you said it urslf - he outclimbed del toro by 19 sec. 19SEC and you say hes alot better than del toro still lol? And can also do the same where del toro did that to jonas even and del toro dauphine numbers better than jonas all year so why this hard whats the issue its super easy stuff - del toro wasnt that before. Then factor in both their trajectory the last years and the answer is self explonatory like i said. Nothing against jonas like many do but the typing is no the wall and so stupidly easy as its so self explanatory now. Have a good daymiguel13-11-2026
- Dirty ex doperFront24213-11-2026
- As far as points go they need to take a page or ten out of the Astana playbook!Lozza13-11-2026
- Ah, seems he’s been busy elsewhere! 😆Lozza13-11-2026
- Where is he when you need him!? Wake up man! You’re missing an opportunity!Lozza13-11-2026
- A very true statement made by Johan Bruyneel: "We don’t know for sure about Jonas, because he dropped out of the Tour de France, but he would never have come close to Pogacar. Maybe he would have finished second. He won the Giro in dominant fashion and the Vuelta the year before, but Visma wants to win the Tour." That's exactly what I've been saying the last six months. If Pogi races with Jonas, the most he can be is second... UNLESS... Pogi crashes out or makes a BIG mistake, which is not likely to happen. Either Bruyneel thinks the way I do or he reads my posts. Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans13-11-2026
- TADEJ POGAČAR !!! "Anatomy of a G.O.A.T." OK, that's great!!! I've been saying all along: Tadej Pogačar-Pogi is the G.O.A.T... period. Not only in cycling... but he's the greatest sportsman that ever lived !!! But let's take a look of what real foolishness looks like: We have many many fools, also on this site, saying that Pogi is "boring,"... he's making cycling "boring"??? I can't believe what's comming out of their deteriorating smelly mouths. So I guess Merckx, Hinault, Indurain, Fasto Coppi and Anquetil were also boring!?!? I guess Michael Jordan, Le Bron, Gretzky, Messi, Ronaldo, Shumacher, Novak Džoković, Federer, Rossi, Marquez, Phelps, Michaela Shiffrin, Venus Williams, Bolt, Lewis Hamilton... etc. were all boring. PS: Many cycling "fans" that think that way, have to get a brain scan. Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans13-11-2026
- Ayuso has had enough time. He's always going to be a mediocre to good cyclist... nothing special or astonishing. But he does have many excuses, just like Remco, but Remco delivers good wins on occasions, Ayuso doesn't. Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans13-11-2026
- I agree, Johan Bruyneel made big mistakes, he was involved in the biggest doping scandal in the history of sports... BUT NEVERTHELESS... Bruyneels analysis on bike racing and cyclists is among the best. That's a fact... period!!! I love listening to Spencer Martin and Johan on WEDU-THE MOVE PODCAST, but I don't care about Armstrong and Hincapie. They are both american bull shi***s who like to exaggerate and talk nonsense.PogiSloFans13-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment