Richard Carapaz says he has no idea how he managed to stay upright after he came within a whisker of falling during the Giro d'italia stage 2 time trial, and he is now fully focussed on the challenges ahead and fighting for a second overall victory.
The 31-year-old EF Education EasyPost leader delivered an impressive 'save' during the Tirana time trial, where he skidded badly on a right-hand corner and only just managed to stay upright and in control of his bike
Despite the scare, the Ecuadorian racer raced to 32nd on the stage and remains very much in contention, lying 14th overall at 46 seconds. His goals, he told Cyclingnews at the stage 4 start, were both to fight for overall, but he had his eyes on stage wins as well, including one as soon as Wednesday.
"The road wasn't that smooth, and we always take risks, but I was really lucky not to go down," Carapaz recognised to Cyclingnews.
"I concentrated on controlling the bike, and I saved myself somehow. But I really have no idea how I stayed upright."
Never worse than fourth overall in his three previous participations, Carapaz recognised that his overriding goal in the 2025 Giro d'Italia is to stand in pink once again on the final day, just as he did in 2019 in Verona. His team are optimistic, too, with Juanma Garate telling Cyclingnews pre-Giro that the Ecuadorian was in the best shape he'd ever been in since joining the squad in 2023.
"I came here with a very clear objective, I'm going very well and I want to do well, I'm giving it everything to get a good result. My objective is to fight for the general classification and to win it," he added. "So I'll fight for that, and hopefully I'll get that."
Carapaz is not just looking at the GC, though, with a triumph in stage 5's hilly, twisting course to Matera a potential goal - and he has the personal race history to back him up for that objective, too. In 2019, his notable early stage victory in Frascati on a similarly technical finale was almost totally eclipsed by the dramatic crash and subsequent abandon of 2017 winner Tom Dumoulin the next day. However, by the end of the Giro and with Carapaz in pink, with the considerable benefit of hindsight, that victory in the rain-soaked finale in Frascati was seen as a foretaste of how the entire race played out.
Regarding Matera in 2025, Carapaz is anything but pessimistic, saying he thinks he has an excellent chance of doing well there. Certainly his fast finish in draggy uphill sprints has proved an important part of his skillset in the past. But as he added, the overriding goal in the first week is to stay out of trouble and maintain his GC options.
"I'm concentrating on the day by day, I want to do well and not lose time in this week," he concluded. "Tomorrow [Wednesday] is a stage where I'll have a lot of opportunities. But it's not just me - lots of riders and teams will be looking at that, too. So we'll have to see what I can do."
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