At the conclusion of the 2026 Tour de France in late July, EF Education-EasyPost rider Richard Carapaz secured maximum climbing honors and the polka dot jersey for a second time in three years. Overcoming a grueling three-week recovery from an April perineal cyst operation, the 33-year-old Ecuadorian discarded early General Classification ambitions to execute a masterclass third-week tactical surge through the Alps.
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Overcoming April Surgery and Abandoning Giro Ambitions
Looking at the way Richard Carapaz managed to clinch first, third, and then first again on the 2026 Tour de France’s three Alpine stages, it remains staggering that earlier this summer the 33-year-old battled severe after-effects from a major operation. Requiring three weeks completely off the bike due to a perineal cyst procedure in April, Carapaz faced a severely disrupted build-up.
That forced downtime ultimately canceled his initial Grand Tour objective of chasing a top General Classification result in the Giro d’Italia in May. According to statements shared by Carapaz with reporters, the interrupted preparation made targeting a high GC finish across the three-week French itinerary impossible. Instead, his team recalibrated their objectives toward stage hunting and the mountains classification as his fitness slowly returned.
| Stage / Location | Result | Strategic Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 9 (Le Lioran) | Breakaway attempt caught | Testing rising form; thwarted by Tadej Pogačar |
| Stage 17 (Orcières-Merlette) | 1st Place (Stage Win) | First breakthrough victory in the Alps |
| Stage 20 (Alpe d’Huez) | 1st Place & Mountains Jersey Lead | Securing the polka dot classification and double triumph |
The Third-Week Gamble and Tactical Execution in the Alps
Carapaz’s uneven early condition meant he deliberately shed time during the Pyrenean phases. As the race entered its final phase, that deficit became a tactical advantage. “We knew the first week would be difficult, but we managed to handle it well, lose time on the stages when I had to lose time and gamble it all on the third week,” Carapaz explained to reporters.
After initial breakaway attempts were neutralized by UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader Tadej Pogačar in the Vosges and on earlier mountain passes, Carapaz struck gold on the first Alpine test at Orcières-Merlette. He followed this up on Saturday with a comprehensive double triumph: capturing an unmatchable lead in the mountains classification and claiming a brutal stage win at Alpe d’Huez.
Entering stage 20 holding a narrow one-point lead in the mountains classification over Pogačar and a seven-point margin over Soudal-QuickStep’s Valentin Paret-Peintre, Carapaz infiltrated the day’s primary breakaway. Working alongside Juan Ayuso of Lidl-Trek, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s Jai Hindley, and Visma-Lease a Bike’s Sepp Kuss, the group established a four-minute advantage at the foot of the Col de Sarenne.
Navigating Late-Stage Drama to Seal the Polka Dot Jersey
Reflecting on the psychological and tactical shift required compared to his aggressive riding on stage 19, Carapaz adopted a measured approach on the penultimate mountain test. “This time round I played the long game. I knew that I had to simply go at my own pace on the climb for 30 minutes and that’s what kept me up there for the win,” he noted.
Late drama unfolded when Sepp Kuss launched a fierce attack on the climb, opening a gap before misfortune struck the American rider on a technical descent. Carapaz pressed onward through the final punishing grind up to Alpe d’Huez. Despite the leg-burning fatigue of over 5,000 vertical meters of climbing, he crossed the summit just 26 seconds ahead of Tour runner-up Remco Evenepoel.
Reflecting on the historic difficulty of securing the polka dot jersey against elite rivals like Pogačar—who beat him to the classification by a narrow margin in 2021—Carapaz acknowledged the sheer weight of the accomplishment. “This year has been really hard, with so many different battles, and I knew this last week would be very hard. But the third week is always my favourite, too, and I think we’ve achieved all the objectives we had when we set out from Barcelona.”
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