CYCLING: Carapaz the first Ecuadorian rider to capture the Giro d’Italia

The emotions flow as Richard Carapaz (ECU) realizes he has won the 102nd Giro d'Italia!

No one was talking about Richard Carapaz and the famous pink jersey – the Maglia Rosa – worn by the leader of the Giro d’Italia when the 102nd edition of the race started back on 11 May. They are talking about him now after his victory was confirmed at the end of Sunday’s time trials in Verona.

Before the race, it was expected that his Movistar team would be supporting Spanish star Mikel Landa in the run for the race victory. But while Landa did well, Carapaz was a revelation.

He wasn’t an unknown. He won a stage of the Giro in 2018, but had done nothing this season that would lead you to believe he could challenge for the Giro crown … and win it.

But after winning the fourth stage to move from 38th to 16th overall, he moved back in the standings slightly for a few stages and then put together a series of rides that catapulted him into the lead, which he never relinquished.

Carapaz’s life began to change with his 21st-place finish in stage 12 that moved him from 20th to eighth and then he spun off finishes of 4-1-5-6 over the mountain stages and moved into the lead after the 14th stage and held on through the finish.

He built his lead to a comfortable 1:54 over Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) going into Sunday’s time trial and while Nibali was brilliant, finishing ninth behind American Chad Haga, he could only cut 49 seconds off of Carapaz’s lead. Slovenian Primoz Roglic, the pre-race favorite, showed tired legs in finishing 10th, but regained third place overall (over Landa).

Haga got his first career World Tour victory and his second career win as a pro, having won the Prologue of the Tour of Elk Grove back in 2013! Fellow American Joe Dombrowski also had an excellent Giro, finishing in 12th overall; his prior best in three previous tries was a 34th-place finish in 2016. Summaries:

UCI World Tour/Giro d’Italia
Italy ~ 11 May-2 June 2019
(Full results here)

Stage 1 (8.0 km Time Trial): 1. Primoz Roglic (SLO), 12:54; 2. Simon Yates (GBR), 13:13; 3. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), 13:17; 4. Miguel Angel Lopez (COL), 13:22; 5. Tom Dumoulin (NED), 13:22. Also in the top 25: 21. Chad Haga (USA), 13:48.

Stage 2 (205.0 km): 1. Pascal Ackermann (GER), 4:44:43; 2. Elia Viviani (ITA), 4:44:43; 3. Caleb Ewan (AUS), 4:44:43; 4. Fernando Gaviria (COL), 4:44:43; 5. Arnaud Demare (FRA), 4:44:43.

Stage 3 (220.0 km): 1. Gaviria (COL), 5:23:19; 2. Demare (FRA), 5:23:19; 3. Ackermann (GER), 5:23:19; 4. Matteo Moschetti (ITA), 5;23:19; 5. Giocomo Nizzolo (ITA), 5:23:19. (Viviani (ITA) won the race, but was disqualified for impeding another rider at the finish.)

Stage 4 (235.0 km): 1. Richard Carapaz (ECU), 5:58:17; 2. Ewan (AUS), 5:58:17; 3. Diego Ulissi (ITA), 5:58:17; 4. Ackermann (GER), 5:58:19; 5. Florian Senechal (FRA), 5:58:19.

Stage 5 (140.0 km): 1. Ackermann (GER), 3:15:44; 2. Gaviria (COL), 3:15:44; 3. Demare (FRA), 3:15:44; 4. Ewan (AUS), 3:15:44; 5. Matteo Moschetti (ITA), 3:15:44. Also in the top 25: 13. Sean Bennett (USA), 3:15:44

Stage 6 (238.0 km): 1. Fausto Masnada (ITA), 5:45:01; 2. Valerio Conti (ITA), 5:45:06; 3. Jose Joaquin Rojas (ESP), 5:45:39; 4. Ruben Plaza (ESP), 5:45:39; 5. Giovanni Carboni (ITA), 5:45:44. Also in the top 25: 20. Brent Bookwalter (USA), 5:52:20.

Stage 7 (185.0 km): 1. Pello Bilbao (ESP), 4:06:27; 2. Tony Gallopin (FRA), 4:06:32; 3. Davide Formolo (ITA), 4:06:32; 4. Lucas Hamilton (AUS), 4:06:36; 5. Mattia Cattaneo (ITA), 4:06:36. Also in the top 25: 23. Joe Dombrowski (USA), 4:07:34.

Stage 8 (239.0 km): 1. Ewan (AUS), 5:43:32; 2. Viviani (ITA), 5:43:32; 3. Ackermann (GER), 5:43:32; 4. Fabio Sabatini (ITA), 5:43:32; 5. Manuel Belletti (ITA), 5:43:32.

Stage 9 (34.8 km Time Trial): 1. Roglic (SLO), 51:52; 2. Victor Campenaerts (BEL), 52:03; 3. Bauke Mollema (NED), 52:52; 4. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), 53:57; 5. Tanel Kangert (EST), 53:02. Also in the top 25: 6. Haga (USA), 53:06.

Stage 10 (145.0 km): 1. Demare (FRA), 3:36:07; 2. Viviani (ITA), 3:36:07; 3. Rudiger Selig (GER), 3:36:07; 4. Ewan (AUS), 3:36:07; 5. Nizzolo (ITA), 3:36:07. Also in the top 25: Bennett (USA), 3:36:07.

Stage 11 (221.0 km): 1. Ewan (AUS), 5:17:26; 2. Demare (FRA), 5:17:26; 3. Ackermann (GER), 5:17:26; 4. Viviani (ITA), 5:17:26; 5. Davide Cimolai (ITA), 5:17:26. Also in the top 25: 10. Bennett (USA), 5:17:26.

Stage 12 (158.0 km): 1. Cesare Benedetti (ITA), 3:41:49; 2. Damiano Caruso (ITA), 3:41:49; 3. Eddie Dunbar (IRL), 3:41:49; 4. Gianluca Brambilla (ITA), 3:41:51; 5. Eros Capecchi (ITA), 3:41:55.

Stage 13 (196.0 km): 1. Ilnur Zakarin (RUS), 5:34:40; 2. Mikel Nieve (ESP), 5:35:15; 3. Mikel Landa (ESP), 5:36:00; 4. Carapaz (ECU), 5:36:18; 5. Bauke Mollema (NED), 5:36:25. Also in the top 25: 13. Dombrowski (USA), 5:39:05.

Stage 14 (131.9 km): 1. Carapaz (ECU), 4:02:23; 2. S. Yates (GBR), 4:03:55; 3. Nibali (ITA), 4:04:17; 4. Rafal Majka (POL), 4:04:17; 5. Mikel Landa (ESP), 4:04:17. Also in the top 25: 9. Dombrowski (USA), 4:04:17; … 24. Sepp Kuss (USA), 4:09:43.

Stage 15 (232.0 km): 1. Dario Cataldo (ITA), 5:48:15; 2. Mattia Cattaneo (ITA), 5:48:15; 3. S. Yates (GBR), 5:48:26; 4. Hugh Carthy (GBR), 5:48:26; 5. Carapaz (ECU), 5:48:26. Also in the top 25: 22. Dombrowski (USA), 5:50:22.

Stage 16 (194.0 km): 1. Giulio Ciccone (ITA), 5:36:24; 2. Jan Hirt (CZE), 5:36:24; 3. Masnada (ITA), 5:37:44; 4. Nibali (ITA), 5:38:05; 5. Carthy (GBR), 5:38:05. Also in the top 25: 8. Dombrowski (USA), 5:38:05.

Stage 17 (181.0 km): 1. Nans Peters (FRA), 4:41:34; 2. Esteban Chaves (COL), 4:43:08; 3. Formolo (ITA), 4:43:25; 4. Masnada (ITA), 4:43:25; 5. Krists Neilands (LAT), 4:43:25.

Stage 18 (222.0 km): 1. Damiano Cima (ITA), 4:56:04; 2. Ackermann (GER), 4:56:04; 3. Simone Consonni (ITA), 4:56:04; 4. Florian Senechal (FRA), 4:56:04; 5. Ryan Gibbons (RSA), 4:56:04. Also in the top 25: 9. Bennett (USA), 4:56:04.

Stage 19 (151.0 km): 1. Chaves (COL), 4:01:31; 2. Andrea Vendrame (ITA), 4:01:41; 3. Amaro Antunes (POR), 4:01:43; 4. Giovanni Carboni (ITA), 4:01:55; 5. Pieter Serry (BEL), 4:02:03.

Stage 20 (194.0 km): 1. Pello Bilbao (ESP), 5:46:02; 2. Landa (ESP), 5:46:02; 3. Ciccone (ITA), 5:46:04; 4. Carapaz (ECU), 5:46:06; 5. Nibali (ITA), 5:46:06. Also in the top 25: 21. Dombrowski (USA), 5:49:27.

Stage 21 (17.0 km Time Trial): 1. Chad Haga (USA), 22:07; 2. Victor Campanaerts (BEL), 22:11; 3. Thomas de Gendt (BEL), 22:13; 4. Damiano Caruso (ITA), 22:16; 5. Tobias Ludvigsson (SWE), 22:18.

Final Standings: 1. Richard Carapaz (ECU), 90:01:47; 2. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), +1:05; 3. Primoz Roglic (SLO), +2:30; 4. Mikel Landa (ESP), +2:38; 5. Bauke Mollema (NED), +5:43; 6. Rafal Majka (POL), +6:56; 7. Miguel Angel Lopez (ESP), +7:26; 8. Simon Yates (GBR), +7:49; 9. Pavel Sivakov (RUS), +8:56; 10. Ilnur Zakarin (RUS), +12:14. Also in the top 25: 12. Joe Dombrowski (USA), +20:12.