Richard Carapaz made his method by means of the combined zone in Santa Rosa de Viterbo carrying an unfamiliar blue jersey and clutching a stuffed tiger. The Tour Colombia doles out extra prizes than most and the Ecuadorian had simply been feted on the rostrum as El favorito de la afición – ‘the followers’ favorite’ – for his efforts on stage 2.
If there was a straw ballot of the general contenders on the end, they may even have voted for the EF Training-EasyPost rider. They actually had cause to be thankful for his intervention given {that a} break of dangermen, together with eventual stage winner Harold Tejada (Astana-Qazaqstan), had entered the ultimate 20km of Tuesday’s stage clutching a lead of greater than two minutes over the peloton.
For a lot of the day, Nairo Quintana’s Movistar squad had carried out the majority of the pace-making within the bunch, as the one one of many favourites with out illustration out in entrance. EF Training-EasyPost’s leaders Carapaz, Rigoberto Urán and Esteban Chaves had teammate Andrea Piccolo within the transfer, whereas Egan Bernal had two companions from the Colombian nationwide squad up the street.
Because the kilometres ticked down, nonetheless, it grew to become more and more clear that Quintana’s squad alone wouldn’t suffice to maintain the break below management. On the run-in to the late climb of the Alto Malterias, Carapaz moved to the entrance of the chasing peloton, and his efforts helped to scale back the break’s spiralling benefit.
The ultimate ascent did the remainder, as the lads with designs on total victory got here to the fore. The group of favourites was pared down to twenty riders, and so they slashed their deficit earlier than the quick drop in the direction of the road, finally coming dwelling 23 seconds down on Tejada who outsprinted Piccolo to the win.
“We wished Piccolo to get to the road and struggle for the win, however we additionally didn’t need to surrender an excessive amount of time,” Carapaz defined after he descended from the rostrum. “Ultimately, it was a part of the technique of the crew. We knew that Rigo and Chaves had been in a very good second too, so we simply wished to chop the hole a bit to remain in competition for the overall classification.
“We had been pleased with the state of affairs for a lot of the day, as a result of we had Piccolo out in entrance and that meant we might keep a bit extra calm, but it surely was nonetheless necessary to keep up our choices for the times forward.”
Because of the stage winner’s time bonus, Tejada now has a buffer of 34 seconds over Carapaz, Urán, Quintana and Bernal, and the Astana-Qazaqstan rider was upbeat about his prospects of warding off the favourites on the pivotal ascent of the Alto del Vino on the penultimate day.
“It’s a major hole and Harold Tejada is a vital rider,” Carapaz admitted, although he identified that there is perhaps additional frissons among the many total contenders on stage 3 round Tunja, which options rolling terrain all through the day and a slight incline to the end.
“The Alto del Vino shall be decisive however there’s plenty of altitude acquire throughout the day tomorrow, so I feel it will likely be fairly demanding too.”
Carapaz’s cameo right here, nonetheless, raises questions on his exact position in EF Training-EasyPost’s technique this week. The Olympic champion, who has made the Ardennes Classics and Tour de France his primary aims for 2024, instructed that EF Training-EasyPost’s common classification hopes had been pinned totally on the 2 dwelling riders, Urán and Chaves.
“I don’t have any strain for this race,” Carapaz stated. “I can journey with freedom right here, it’s kind of a ‘free’ race for me in a method. I’m right here for my teammates and I used to be glad to maintain them in entrance for the times forward.”
And but, coming off the again of such an ill-starred debut marketing campaign with EF Training-EasyPost, Carapaz will certainly be on the lookout for some reassurance of his personal in Colombia this week as he builds in the direction of loftier objectives down the road. “The reality is I’m going fairly properly,” he stated. “This is a vital race and I’ve ready properly for it, in addition to I might. I feel the Alto del Vino shall be a pleasant take a look at.”
