Roberto Espinoza Mogro, special envoy

Santiago

Richard Carapaz, Carchi Locomotive, is in perfect physical condition to fight for the podium at the Pan American Games in Chile. This is the first participation of the 30-year-old Ecuadorian cyclist in this sporting event.

Carapaz is entered for the time trial to be run on Sunday, October 22, and the road race on Sunday, 29. Both are scheduled for 10:00 in Ecuador (12:00 in Santiago).

Cyclist Richard Carapaz arrived in Santiago for the time trial and road events at the Pan American Games

“He had an incomplete fracture of the patella in the Tour de France, but he is in perfect condition. The medical staff spoke to Richard before he went to scout his route in the time trial,” Pablo Sarmiento, the Ecuadorian Olympic Committee (COE) medical chief, revealed to EL UNIVERSO.

To avoid injury while competing at the Pan American Games, Dr. Sarmiento explained, “He will undergo a cryotherapy pool, where he will be in water at 4 degrees Celsius for 8 to 10 minutes so that he can recover from the discomfort he feels from his training.”

“What the cold will do is stop any training-induced inflammation; and also helps reduce lactic acid. After that, he will have sports prophylaxis, where physiotherapists will work on the process of expelling lactic acid,” he added in an interview with this newspaper.

Carapaz arrives at the Pan American Games with a mission to make his history another gold medal like the one he won at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the road category.

He covered 244 kilometers, but took advantage of the others in the last 6 kilometers and recorded a time of 6h:05:26, which gave him the lead on the podium.

He arrived in the Araucanian region after participating in the Giro Della Toscana in Italy and the Tour of Luxembourg with the EF Education-EasyPost team, with which he signed a contract this year.

On his record, Carapaz won the 2019 Giro d’Italia with the Movistar team in 2019 when he won the Giro d’Italia; With the British team Ineos Grenadiers, he won second place at the 2020 Vuelta a España and third place at the 2021 Tour de France. (D)