'I want to win the Tour de France' - Richard Carapaz to leave Ineos Grenadiers and join EF Education for 2023
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Published 19/08/2022 at 13:37 GMT
Richard Carapaz will join EF Education next year after signing a new deal with the team, meaning he will leave Ineos Grenadiers. Carapaz is riding at this year’s La Vuelta which will be one of his final races with Ineos before the end of the season. “When you conquer one thing, you want more,” said Carapaz about his move. “I’m one of those people who wants more.”
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EF Education have announced they have signed Richard Carapaz to join their team for the 2023 cycling season.
Carapaz will race at La Vuelta, which begins on Friday, which will be his last Grand Tour for Ineos Grenadiers.
He joined Ineos in 2020, finishing second at La Vuelta 2020, third at last year’s Tour de France and was runner-up to Jai Hindley at this year’s Tour de France.
“When you conquer one thing, you want more,” said Carapaz, who won the men's road race at last year's Tokyo Olympics. "I’m one of those people who wants more.
“There are still things I haven’t achieved. I’d like to try to win another Grand Tour. A life goal has always been to win the Tour de France.
“It’s something I will fight for. I know it’s possible. I know what my potential is and what I can do, what I can achieve, and I’m fighting for this dream.
“Every day I get up with this dream that I have to try for. When I first started to ride we knew about the Grand Tours. Eventually I thought I could win the Giro d’Italia and I’ve done that and now I’m thinking about the Tour de France.”
Tour de France main motivation for Carapaz
Ineos have had several team leaders in recent years at Grand Tours with Egan Bernal, Geraint Thomas, Adam Yates and Tao Geoghegan Hart all being given the opportunity to fight for the overall victory.
Carapaz, who won the 2019 Giro d’Italia at Movistar, says his focus is on the Tour de France, after missing the event this year.
“This [EF Education] is a team with a lot of ambition and many things they want to achieve,” said Carapaz.
“I’m a piece that can fit into the team really well. I’m motivated and was looking for a team with the same objectives as me. I have the focus and want to try to win the Tour de France and I think that’s something we can achieve here together.
“The team wants to reach for its goals and that’s something really valuable to me. A team like this that wants to win a grand tour like me.
“This is something we will have to work a lot for because this is something that takes a lot of work, a lot of dedication, and that’s what this team has. I’m motivated to join the team to fight for this dream and the team has confidence in me so we’re going to achieve all that we can together.”
EF Education CEO Jonathan Vaughters admits Carapaz is a rider he’s always kept a keen eye on.
“Carapaz has always been one of my favourite,” he explained. “Not just because he wins. Carapaz wins with intelligence, timing, aggressiveness, and grit.
“He won the Giro because he was really smart and he attacked at exactly the right moment. He was incredibly gritty and willing to take a risk to do it, and he pulled it off. I appreciate that.
“At the Olympics, same thing. He timed his attack perfectly to win the gold medal.
“For the style of our team, Richard fits in perfectly, because we need a leader who can win races using crafty tactics and not just raw horsepower.
“That is what Richard brings to us and we are really excited to help him as much as we can to exploit his aggressive and crafty racing style.”
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