Ecuadorian gold medalist Richard Carapaz celebrates his victory on the podium during the medal ceremony for the men’s road cycling race at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. (GREG BAKER / AFP).

Ecuador woke up this Saturday to celebrate the triumph of the rider Richard Carapaz who won the gold medal in the road cycling event of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

“Thank you Richard Carapaz for this joy for Ecuador, an example of effort and perseverance,” wrote the Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Mauricio Montalvo on his Twitter account.

With this victory, the rider became the second Ecuadorian in history to win Olympic gold , finishing the Mount Fuji circuit in 6:05:26 ahead of the Belgian Wout van Aert and the winner of the Tour de France, the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar.

“It’s something that I can’t believe myself ,” said Carapaz, 28, in statements released by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Sports.

Sebastián Palacios, who is in charge of the Sports portfolio, called the triumph “historic” and “enormous”. “Our flag and our anthem at the top,” he also wrote on Twitter.

Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the men’s cycling road race during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Fuji International Speedway in Oyama, Japan, on July 24, 2021. (Photo by Jeff PACHOUD / AFP) (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD/AFP via Getty Images)

The 28-year-old ‘Locomotive’ reached the Olympics after achieving third place in the Tour de France this year . In 2019 he won the Giro d’Italia and the following year he finished second in the Tour of Spain.

Carapaz became after 25 years the second Ecuadorian to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games. The marcher Jefferson Pérez was the first to get the highest award in the 20km march of Atlanta-1996. He also won silver in the 2008 Beijing Games.

The Ecuadorian Olympic Committee also celebrated the victory of the rider born in the Andean province of Carchi (north and border with Colombia). “A great Richard Carapaz, goes from celebrating the podium in the Tour de France to Olympic Champion , ” he scored in a trill.

Ecuador attended the Tokyo 2020 games with a record of 48 athletes, compared to 38 for the 2016 edition and 36 for the 2012 edition.

Richard Carapaz wins the second Olympic gold in the history of Ecuador.

Richard Carapaz got Ecuador’s second Olympic gold this Saturday by winning the cycling road event at the Mount Fuji circuit, after a 234-kilometer route with five ports.

Carapaz, who equaled the gold achieved by Jefferson Pérez from Cuenca in the 20-kilometer march of the 1996 Atlanta Games , finished ahead of Belgian Wout van Aert and Tour de France winner, Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, who completed the podium.

In fact, Ecuador only had two Olympic medals so far, both won by Pérez , who also won silver in Beijing-2008.

With Belgium, Italy, Spain or Slovenia as favorites for the medals, the race was decided in the last kilometers of the demanding Olympic route, which was even harder due to the strong heat and humidity, when the pace imposed on the ascent of Mikuni Pass For the Italians, he left the head of the race formed by just a fortnight of runners, with Carapaz, the Colombian Rigoberto Urán and the Argentine Eduardo Sepúlveda as Latin representatives and without the presence of a single Spanish runner.

About 24 km to the finish line, installed on the Fuji International Speedway motoring circuit, in the ascent to the last level of the day, the Kagosaka Pass, North American Brandon McNulty assaulted and took Carapaz to his wheel, delegated both with right around a thirty seconds in front of the pursuing gathering.

Despite Pogacar and Van Aert leading the hunt, Carapaz and McNulty got on well and increased the lead to 45 seconds with 15km to go.

Van Aert, who was shown in the last Tour winning a high mountain stage, a period preliminary and the last run in Paris, came to put the followers just 16 seconds away with 10 km actually staying to the objective, however the absence of comprehension in that bunch he supported the escapees.

On the outskirts of the circuit, on a false flat uphill, Carapaz left McNulty and the Ecuadorian arrived alone at Fuji International Speedway to take the gold.

Sebastián Palacios, who is in charge of the Sports portfolio, called the triumph “historic” and “enormous”. “Our flag and our anthem at the top,” he also wrote on Twitter.

The 28-year-old ‘Locomotive’ reached the Olympics after achieving third place in the Tour de France this year . In 2019 he won the Giro d’Italia and the following year he finished second in the Tour of Spain.
Carapaz became after 25 years the second Ecuadorian to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games. The marcher Jefferson Pérez was the first to get the highest award in the 20km march of Atlanta-1996. He also won silver in the 2008 Beijing Games.

The Ecuadorian Olympic Committee also celebrated the victory of the rider born in the Andean province of Carchi (north and border with Colombia). “A great Richard Carapaz, goes from celebrating the podium in the Tour de France to Olympic Champion , ” he scored in a trill.

Ecuador attended the Tokyo 2020 games with a record of 48 athletes, compared to 38 for the 2016 edition and 36 for the 2012 edition.

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