Richard Carapaz left a message to Rigoberto Urán: “I think the EF lacked a leader”

Rigoberto Urán and Richard Carapaz will be teammates in the EF Education EasyPost (Instagram)

The Ecuadorian cyclist Richard Carapaz appeared at a press conference held in Quito as a new member of the EF Education-EasyPost team for the 2023 season, after ending his relationship with Ineos in 2022. During the talk, he assured that he currently feels like the leader of the formation and confirmed that his main objective for the 2023 season will be to compete in the Tour de France.

Rigoberto Urán defined his goals for 2023: Giro d’Italia and Tour de France

The Colombian cyclist from EF Education-EasyPost will start the season at the National Championships that will take place at the beginning of February

La Locomotora del Carchi, who attended the press conference in the company of his compatriots Jonathan Caicedo and Alexander Cepeda, did not hide his happiness for wearing the colors of the American team based in Spain, pointing out that in EF he feels greater support to reach individual and collective objectives for this season:

“When we were in Girona (Spain) sharing several days with the team, we felt the support and the desire to seek a common goal”

However, one of his most striking statements during the event was when he saw himself as the de facto leader of the team, even before the first race:

“I think that EF lacked a leader as such, and now having a clear leader is like a path to follow: we know what we are looking for and want, what is the ambition as a team and we have many things that unite us”

The current Olympic road cycling champion and winner of the 2019 Giro d’Italia nevertheless acknowledged that he wants to earn the respect and trust of the rest of the EF, and stated that he feels confident in his own virtues to achieve it:

“We have a great opportunity as a team, not only for me to show myself as a leader”

Although Carapaz’s leadership seems evident given that he is going through his heyday as an athlete, riders like the Colombian Esteban Chaves or the British Hugh Carthy could have opportunities to challenge him for that place.

Egan Bernal opened up about his accident: “it was the best thing that could have happened to me”

The cyclist spoke of his recovery almost a year after the collision with an intermunicipal bus in which his life was in danger. His 2023 season will begin in the Vuelta a San Juan and the main objective will be to participate in the Tour de France

On the other hand, the one who until now was the man to follow in the team, Rigoberto Urán, who finally decided to continue in the activity after flirting with retirement at the end of 2022; he is still a name to respect in EF. However, Rigo himself recognized after the Tour of Spain that the team needed another leader.

Currently Carapaz will focus his efforts on his preparation for the Tour de France. In the gala race, the Ecuadorian aims to fight for the yellow jersey and thus surpass what he achieved in 2021, when he climbed to third place on the podium on the Champs-Élysées, behind Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard, at a time when he himself Carapaz defined as one of the most special of his entire sports career. During the press conference, he pointed out that his preparation for the Tour would begin in Ecuador itself:

“We are fortunate to prepare first in Ecuador and training with my teammates. I have teammates with whom I can share various training sessions and lead a good preparation”

Rigoberto, for his part, recently confirmed that his priority for the 2023 season is to prepare for the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France.

Nairo Quintana, concentrated for the season, sent a message of calm and gave clues about his future

The Colombian cyclist has yet to confirm his presence in a team for 2023, but he continues to train on Colombian roads to get to the top of the competitions

Keep reading:

Rigoberto Urán defined his objectives for 2023: Giro d’Italia and Tour de FranciaEgan Bernal, Supermán López, Rigoberto Urán and Sergio Higuita will participate in the 2023 National Road ChampionshipsRigoberto Urán does not intend to give a single peso to his employees after his New Year promise

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