Richard Carapaz returns to racing with Tour de France ambitions

Richard Carapaz will return to competition almost seven weeks after undergoing surgery that ruled him out of the Giro d’Italia.

The EF Education-EasyPost leader has fully recovered from the procedure to remove a perineal cyst and will use the Swiss one day race to begin rebuilding his racing rhythm. He is then scheduled to line up at the Tour de Suisse, where he will assess his condition before turning his full attention to the Tour de France.

“Right now, I feel good on the bike,” Carapaz said in a statement by the team. “I’ve been able to spend a good amount of time at home, recover in the best possible way and train well. Above all, I’ve been in one place the whole time, which has allowed me to put together a new training block and find a stable rhythm again.”

Carapaz underwent surgery on April 29, having built the first half of his season around another attempt at the Giro.

There was initially some hope that he might recover in time to start the 2026 edition, but the wound did not heal quickly enough for him to resume full training. EF was eventually forced to withdraw him from the race, a decision Carapaz described at the time as “a complete disappointment.”

After spending 24 days off the bike, the Ecuadorian was able to restart normal training. He has since completed a consistent block at home before returning to Europe ten days ago.

“I’ve been able to train at sea level and test the new sensations, and honestly, they have been very, very good,” he said. “The GP Gippingen is a circuit I’ve done before. I hope everything goes well.”

The race will offer Carapaz his first opportunity to test himself in competition since the Volta a Catalunya, where he finished tenth overall. He has completed only 16 race days this season, also appearing at the Trofeo Laigueglia, Strade Bianche and Tirreno Adriatico.

His next appearance at the Tour de Suisse will provide a more demanding examination of his form. The stage race has become an important part of his revised route towards the Tour de France.

“The Tour de Suisse is a race that I’m always quite fond of,” Carapaz said. “I’ve prepared for it in the best possible way, and also with an eye on the Tour. It is going to be a trial by fire.”

The Tour has taken on added importance after Carapaz also missed the 2025 edition because of a gastrointestinal infection. He withdrew just days before the start.

That absence followed one of the strongest Tour campaigns of his career in 2024. Carapaz wore the yellow jersey, won a stage, secured the mountains classification and was named the race’s most combative rider.

Now healthy again, the 33-year-old believes he can return to the Tour with significant ambitions.

“I’m always highly motivated for the Tour,” he said. “I have big aspirations.”