Racing
Richard Carapaz wins stage 4 of the Tour de Romandie
Reigning Olympic champ dances away from an elite group of GC favorites on the final climb to win in Leysin
April 27, 2024
With two kilometers to go in the fourth stage of the Tour de Romandie, Richard Carapaz launched his attack.
The reigning Olympic champion danced away from an elite group of GC favorites and rode solo to the mountain village of Leysin, where he celebrated his second victory of the 2024 season. After a difficult spring, this win in the prestigious Swiss race proves that Richie’s persistence and self belief have paid off.
“I knew that the stage was key today, and that I had a lot of options,” Richie said after he had sprayed champagne from the top step of the podium. “In the end, I took the opportunity: go for it until the finish line. I knew the roads and waited for the moment I wanted to go.”
And then he soared like an Ecuadorian eagle. A hundred meters from the finish line, Richie knew he had it. He never let off the pedals, but allowed his determined grimace to turn into a grin.
“I knew I was faster and that I had it in the bag, so I could enjoy it!” he said.
Our whole team is going to celebrate tonight. EF Education-EasyPost Head Sports Director Charly Wegelius watched Richard’s attack from the race car.
“Richie's been knocking on the door for a while now,” Charly said. “He's obviously had a hard, tricky start to the season with some setbacks, but he put a good period of training in and he's been there or thereabouts. We knew that he was good, but he just had to keep going at it. I think he did a great job, not giving up. He had to show some patience today. He waited until just the right moment, and then he let fly.”
Richie’s teammates are excited to see him back to his best. They did a huge job today to get him to the final climb fresh.
“To be around a rider of his level is motivating for the whole group,” Charly said. “Everybody put a lot of work into the stage, supporting him, and to see him finish it off is just great energy for the whole group.”
We’ll keep this momentum rolling. Grand tour season is about to kick off. Richie has his sights set on the Tour de France.
“I am very happy after this first campaign in Europe and I think the team has shown what they are made of,” Richard said. “Now we are going to enjoy this.”
Today’s win shows that Richie is in a great spot to start his final preparations for La Grand Boucle.