Giro d’Italia winner Richard Carapaz will return to racing with Movistar on Sunday, following an injury that kept him out of the Vuelta a España.
The Ecuadorian crashed less than a week ahead of the start of the 2019 Vuelta in Torrevieja, injuring his shoulder. He had been due to head up the team alongside Nairo Quintana and world champion Alejandro Valverde.
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At the time the team said: “In spite of the treatment received since [the crash] and the absence of fractures, the evolution of the lesions advises a greater precaution for its total restoration, so he will not take part in the race.”
Carapaz had only returned to racing at the start of August at the Vuelta a Burgos stage race after a surprise victory in the Giro just a couple of months earlier. The 26-year-old beat Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) and Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) to the pink jersey in a tightly fought edition of the Italian Grand Tour.
After missing the start of the Vuelta, Carapaz will now line-up in the WorldTour one-day race, Bretagne Classic-Ouest France on September 1. He’ll join Carlos Barbero, Carlos Betancur, Héctor Carretero, Eduard Prades, Jürgen Roelandts and Jasha Sütterlin on the start line in Brittany as part of the Movistar line-up.
The 247km race is quite different to its previous editions, with a new hillier circuit that could suit climbers as well as puncheurs.
At the Vuelta, Carapaz’s Movistar team-mates sit in a strong position after stage four, with the first mountain top finish coming on stage five. Quintana is just two seconds behind overall leader Nicolas Roche (Sunweb) having won the tough second stage with a late attack, while Valverde is at just 49 seconds behind in 12th place in a tightly packed group of overall contenders.
Carapaz is not expected to remain part of Movistar after this season, with him widely expected to make a move to Team Ineos for 2020.
