Richard Carapaz signs three year deal with Team Ineos

Richard Carapaz has signed a three year deal with Team Ineos, to begin in 2020, marking the end of his stint with Movistar.

This year’s Giro d’Italia winner joined his current outfit as a stagiaire in 2016, going full time in 2017.  He has remained with the Spanish set-up ever since.

Before that, he spent a year riding for Columbian Continental team Strongman–Campagnolo–Wilier.

In finishing the Italian road race in the maglia rosa, the Ecuadorian rider became the first from his country to win a Grand Tour.

This year, he also won the Vuelta a Asturias – defending the title he claimed in 2018 alongside a Giro d’Italia stage win and fourth overall.

Yet to ride the Tour de France, Carapaz’s best result at the Vuelta a España stands at 18th in 2018, where he rode in support of Alejandro Valverde.

Following the announcement, the three-time Giro stage winner said: “I am very excited about joining the team. I feel this is a great opportunity for me to continue my development and growth as a rider, working with a team that continues to go from strength-to-strength, year after year.

“I already know a lot of the riders on the team and I am really looking forward to working everyone at Team Ineos from next season.

“I believe I will fit into this group well and race to my full potential over the coming years. I want to achieve some great triumphs for Team Ineos.”

The 26-year-old is Ineos’ first new signing for 2020.

Team Principal Sir Dave Brailsford said of his arrival: “We have been long time admirers of [Carapaz’s] talents as a bike rider and have followed his development closely over a number of years, as we have always marked him out as a potential member of our Team.

“He is obviously a fantastic climber but also has great versatility as he showed at the Giro earlier this year. He is still relatively young and I have no doubt he can develop and improve even further at Team Ineos.”