Richard Carapaz signs three year deal with Team Ineos

The 26-year-old is the team's first new signing for 2020

Richard Carapaz wins stage 14 of the Giro d'Italia 2019 (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

(Image credit: Getty Images)

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.”

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Michelle Arthurs-Brennan

Michelle Arthurs-Brennan the Editor of Cycling Weekly website. An NCTJ qualified traditional journalist by trade, Michelle began her career working for local newspapers. She's worked within the cycling industry since 2012, and joined the Cycling Weekly team in 2017, having previously been Editor at Total Women's Cycling. Prior to welcoming her daughter in 2022, Michelle raced on the road, track, and in time trials, and still rides as much as she can - albeit a fair proportion indoors, for now.