Richard Carapaz lit up the Giro d’Italia that’s been on a slow fuse with a throw-back performance Tuesday, blowing up the favorite’s group to finish fourth on the summit of Brentonico-San Valentino and clawing himself back into serious GC contention.
Now third overall at just 31 seconds off the maglia rosa of Isaac del Toro, the 2019 Giro champion looks ready to chase a second pink jersey all the way to Rome.
And with the Giro’s hardest and most decisive stages lined up like dominoes in the final week, the EF Education-EasyPost climber could be the last one standing as he’s finding his kick when it matters most.
“We knew this was a key stage in the Giro,” Carapaz said at the finish. “I’ve shown what I’ve worked for, everything it’s cost for me to get back here, and I’ve done it once again. In recent years, I didn’t have the health or the luck to be here.
“Even today, I crashed, but I had the motivation to get up and try again and again,” Carapaz said. “We’re here to fight, and I’m not going to give up. I want to try all the way to Rome.”
On a day that turned the Giro GC upside down, with Juan Ayuso fading and Primož Roglič pulling out, Carapaz boldly stepped into the void.
Carapaz limited his losses in last week’s time trial and dodged the chaos of the gravel roads of Siena. Now firing at all cylinders, he’s looking the sharpest among the climbers.
Could it be enough to deliver pink?
Emerging from the chaos: ‘It was an important day for me’
Nicknamed the “Locomotora del Carchi” — the Carchi Locomotive — the Ecuadorian is getting his Giro on track right on time.
Despite a minor crash earlier in the stage, he recovered and rode with patience before launching a searing attack in the final kilometers to put pink jersey Del Toro (UAE Emirates-XRG) and everyone else under pressure.
Already a winner in stage 11, he kicked to fourth behind remnants of the day’s winning breakaway, and took time on everyone in the GC group.
With another well-timed surge, he proved he’s the only one who can attack off the front so far in this Giro, and he climbed into the virtual podium spot after Ayuso plummeted from third to 17th.
“It was a very important day for me,” said Carapaz, who turns 32 on Thursday. “I knew I had the legs and that I had to try. I waited for my moment, and I gave everything I had until the finish line. The Giro is there for the taking, and I won’t stop trying.”
ALL ABOARD! Richie blasts out of the station on week three with an incredible attack
#giroditalia pic.twitter.com/Sv5RiVxu4A
— EF Pro Cycling (@EFprocycling) May 27, 2025
The fall? Just part of the job in what’s been a treacherous Giro that — at least until Tuesday — has seen more decisive splits and differences made by spills than GC thrills.
“It was a bit of a silly crash, it just comes with the job,” he said. “I knew I hadn’t done any damage, and I could get back to the group and try again. We held on through Ineos’ first acceleration, then I struggled a bit on the second climb. Later I recovered and went for it at the end.
“It was a day of deep fatigue, but it turned into a beautiful stage for us. It’s one to remember.”
After years spent off the radar in grand tours, Carapaz — a Giro winner in 2019 as Ecuador’s first grand tour winner — is finally healthy, lucky, and once again climbing with the best.
The Carapaz Express is gaining steam, and the Mortirolo is up next.