In the Volta a Catalunya, from March 20 to 26, Ecuadorian cyclist Richard Carapaz took 51st place in the general classification, with a time of 28 hours, 53 minutes and 44 seconds, in a competition in which Jefferson Cepeda, his compatriot and teammate from of EF Education. Easy Post, was twenty-fifth.

And even though it is Locomotive Carchi He stood out as the most combative competitor of the race, with 151 points his final ranking was far from predicted. The champion was Primož Roglić.

Then, at the Tour of the Basque Country, things didn’t improve for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic road champion. A tough finish, with the peloton cut short by a crash a few meters from the finish, saw Carapaza out of contention for the previous Wednesday’s third stage.

The EF team had the tricolor as one of the options to win the fifth round of the Basque competition, but carchense withdrew due to an allergy.

It is because of this performance that Carchense is under question about his level and is expected to reach his highest point in the next competitions.

“In the cross on the coin is Richard Carapaz. After failing at the Catalan circuit, the race that marked his debut in Europe this season, he appeared in the Basque Country to sharpen his form somewhat and repair the sensations he left in March. Neither did the Ecuadorian, who leaves the Basque race without being able to finish it and with the feeling that he still has a lot of work to do,” he said in the note. High cyclinga site specialized in cycling.

“On a positive note, on the climb to La Asturiana he managed to hold his own against Vingegaard during the first part of the climb. However, in the decisive part, he was not at the level expected of the ambitious Tour de France champion. A tough setback for the cyclist who was far behind in preparations for tonsillectomy and forced the team to bet on a softer start to compete in in a crescendo during the season,” he added.

Also, the portal states that Carapaz did not produce results in his new team that justify his hiring.

“The month of July is still a long way off, yes, but just as Denmark’s Vingegaard has already done his homework, the Ecuadorian and new addition to the Education First team has yet to report the results to the North American team. Luck was not on his side either, because his leg landed on Hika’s slope, the only climb in this edition, and that at a decisive moment,” the portal concludes. (D)