Carapaz Climbs to the Giro Podium

Richard Carapaz and his EF Education-EasyPost team rode a savvy and powerful race aboard their sleek SuperSix EVOs LAB71 to nab third place at the most exciting, dramatic, and unpredictable Giro d’Italia seen in years. The whole squad was on form, with Kaspar Asgreen taking a memorable solo stage win on stage 14, and the rest a constant presence at the front of the pack, ever vigilant in support of their leader, Carapaz. And what a leader he was! Richie came into this Giro hungry, focused, and in some of the best shape of his life, attacking and animating the race like only he can, demonstrating yet again why he is such a fan favorite in his native Ecuador and throughout the cycling world. Friendly and humble off the bike, and ruthless on it, Richie is a racer’s racer, matching tactical cunning and patience with instinctive aggression – in other words, he knows when to wait, and when to attack. And when that moment comes, the attack comes with a sheer brutality and swashbuckling panache that few can follow.

Any pretense of subtlety vanished abruptly on Stage 11 when, 9km from the finish, Carapaz and his SuperSix EVO LAB71 Team Edition exploded from the group and soloed into Castelnovo ne' Monti, alone and elated, 10 seconds ahead of the young race leader, Isaac del Toro. The Locomotive had morphed into a rocket, the plan was playing out, and notice had been served – Richie was here to play.

From that moment, Carapaz and his EF teammates were on the hunt, executing their strategy with heart, strength, and tactical finesse, animating the race with attacks, marking the leaders, and steadily marching up the leader board. Rarely outside the top 10 on any stage, Richie put his stamp on the race on Stage 16, launching a savage attack that caught the other GC contenders flat-footed, and vaulting himself into second overall.

From that point on, the 2025 Giro was distilled into a three-way battle between Carapaz, Del Toro, and Simon Yates. Carapaz and Del Toro seemed to be at a level beyond the others, and they spent the last week pushing each other, attacking, probing for weakness, each seeking to catch the other out and ride into glory. Del Toro had youth and the promise of first-ever glory on his side, while the veteran Carapaz had experience, thousands upon thousands of kilometers of preparation, and the iron will of a champion. Little did they know that the wily veteran, Yates, had saved up for something very special. On the final day in the mountains, while Carapaz and Del Toro were battling mano y mano to see who would take the Maglia Rosa into Rome, Yates snuck off the front, met up with teammate, Wout Van Aert, and stormed their way to a historic upset in Sestriere. In the end, Del Toro claimed the 2nd step, while Richie, after winning it in 2018, mounted the third step, a complete 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in Giro throughout his storied career. Congratulations, Simon, Isaac, and Richard on the final podium in Roma. You made this a Giro for the ages. Grande!!