Carapaz on the attack: ‘Tomorrow is the kind of racing I like’

The EF Education-EasyPost rider was one of the main aggressors during a frantic opening half of Friday’s stage to Peñas Blancas. He attacked repeatedly on the early climbs and briefly opened a gap over the red jersey group, but Enric Mas and his closest rivals were unwilling to give the Ecuadorian any meaningful freedom.

Carapaz revealed afterwards that the aggression had been planned from the start, with EF setting out with ambitions of fighting for the stage.

“We came off the bus with that idea,” Carapaz told Eurosport. “We wanted to go for the stage. That was the plan for today, to try to control the race, but in the end it was very difficult.”

Carapaz first tested his rivals near the top of the Puerto de las Abejas, taking Oscar Onley with him before the move was quickly shut down. He tried again on the Puerto del Viento and continued pushing over the summit, at one point gaining around 20 seconds with the help of teammate Darren Rafferty.

Again, the reaction from behind was immediate.

“On the second climb I tried to close the gap, but it was very difficult,” Carapaz said. “We tried. I think we raced very positively today.”

The repeated attacks ultimately came to nothing, while the stage victory went to Eddie Dunbar, who caught and passed Santiago Buitrago inside the final kilometre of Peñas Blancas.

Behind them, Primož Roglič made his own move with two kilometres remaining, but Mas responded immediately. Carapaz was also able to follow, alongside Felix Gall and Onley, and the leading general classification contenders reached the summit together.

Mas therefore carries his 1:37 advantage over Roglič into the final weekend, but Carapaz appears in no mood to settle for a quiet conclusion to the race.

Asked about another chance to attack on Saturday, the former Giro d’Italia winner was unequivocal.

“I have nothing to prove,” he said.

Carapaz also felt Saturday’s stage would suit him better, with several climbs coming in quick succession rather than one long final ascent.

“Tomorrow is a different stage,” he said. “There are more climbs one after another, which is the kind of racing I like.”