Roberto Espinoza Mogro, special envoy

SANTIAGO

In complete silence, cyclist Richard Carapaz, Ecuador’s Olympic champion at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, arrived in Santiago to participate in the Pan American Games.

THE UNIVERSE knew that Locomotive Carchi entered this Thursday Very early in the morning he went to the Pan-American Village and quickly went to his room to rest.

Carapaz, 30 years old and a member of the EF Education-EasyPost team since this year, is considered one of the athletes with the best chances to win a gold medal. in the time trial (October 22nd at 10:00 a.m.) and the road race (October 29th at 10:00 a.m.).

Richard Carapaz, the Olympic champion from Ecuador, among the stars who will fight for the gold medal at the Pan American Games in Santiago

At the end of August, Carchensese’s participation in the Games was questionable because of his statements: “I don’t know anything until today.” I’ve been saying publicly that we’ll see if they can invite us, but at this point we know there are four spots. “I would love to be there, but I haven’t received any statement from the federation or from anyone in charge of making the squad.”

This was resolved when the Ecuadorian Olympic Committee (COE) published a list of tricolor athletes, including a pedalist, registered in various disciplines.

He arrives in Santiago after participating in the Giro Della Toscana in Italy and the Tour of Luxembourg. He achieved his first victory with the Movistar team in 2019 when he won the Giro d’Italia.

Before facing these tests, Carapaz had a small fracture in his left kneecap, a result of a fall he suffered in the first stage of the Tour de France at the beginning of July this year. Now he has a chance to win his first medal at the Pan American Games.

In 2020, Carapaza was recruited by British team Ineos Grenadiers and finished second at the 2020 Vuelta a España. At the 2021 Tour de France, he was third, joining a select group of riders in world cycling history to have etched their name in the top three UCI WorldTour Grand Tour. (D)