Courmayeur (Italy) (AFP)
"I wanted to see the reaction of Roglic and Nibali," said Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz about the attack that allowed him to win the 14th stage of the Giro Friday in Courmayeur, and endorse the pink jersey.
"It was a very hard stage even if it was short," said Carapaz, who went on the offensive 28 kilometers from the finish, 3 kilometers from the top of San Carlo.
"It was planned in our plans: we had two cards to play," said the Ecuadorian Movistar team, which also counts on the Spaniard Mikel Landa, 5th in the standings. "Mikel is in good form, but yesterday (Friday) he made a lot of kilometers ahead of him, and today he was a bit dull in the end."
Asked about the rest of the Giro, which will end on 2 June in Verona with an individual time trial far from being his strong point, Carapaz replied: "Roglic and Nibali remain favorites. pink jersey The mountain stages are favorable to us and the chrono of Verona does not scare me. "
On the verge of celebrating his 26th birthday next Wednesday, the Ecuadorian returned to his cycling route: "When I first saw the Giro, it was on a mobile phone, I remember Marco Pantani in the mountains It was a dream to participate! "
"There is no cycling in Ecuador, which is why I went to Colombia at the age of 17. Then I ran in Spain some important races (in the category). I even made podiums, but I did not find a trainee position at Movistar until after my return to Colombia and my victory in the Tour de la Jeunesse, I'm the only foreigner to be on the list. ", told Carapaz.
In Courmayeur, the new leader of the Giro has won his third success in the pink race, the second since the departure of Bologna. "But at Frascati (4th stage) it was different," he said. "I had lost time the day before, because of a mechanical incident, I took advantage of the opportunity, I attacked 600 meters from the finish, and today it was a different affair. "
? 2019 AFP