Richard Carapaz has broken his EF Education-EasyPost contract to sign for NSN Cycling, bringing an end to his four years at the American team.
The Ecuadorian, the winner of the King of the Mountains competition at the Tour de France this year, and a former winner of the Giro d’Italia and the Olympic road race, has signed for NSN for three years, it was revealed on Friday afternoon.
“Signing Richard Carapaz is a significant moment for our team and an important milestone in the development of our sporting project,” the team’s general manager, Kjell Carlström, said. “Richard is a proven champion. His achievements speak for themselves, but what makes him particularly special is his mentality.”
Latest Videos FromCycling Weekly
“For me, it’s a tremendous opportunity as a rider to be part of this project and, above all, to be one of the team’s leaders, Carapaz said. “I’m simply very excited.
“I’m really looking forward to it, and to be honest, this reminds me a lot of when I signed my first professional contract, when I was incredibly excited about being in the WorldTour. I still have the same motivation as I did that day and that’s really an incredible feeling.”
The 33-year-old was contracted to EF until 2028, but has moved to boost the team, both as a general classification leader and helping the next generation through. This season, Carapaz won two stages at the Tour and finished eighth overall, before going on to finish fourth overall at the Vuelta a España. The aggressive climber is a fan-favourite for his attacking style.
“He is one of those riders whose passion for cycling is so evident and we believe he still has some of his best performances ahead of him,” Carlström added. “His experience and leadership will be extremely valuable, not only in helping us achieve our sporting objectives but also in developing the next generation of talent within the team.
“Richard is someone our young riders can look up to, and I have no doubt he will fit in perfectly in our team culture. We’re excited for Richard’s next chapter at NSN Cycling.”
Carapaz said: “I find the NSN project really interesting and after our first conversations, I was convinced this would be the right place for me. I’m a rider who has achieved great results throughout my career, many of which were in the Grand Tours, and that fits very well with what NSN was looking for.
“The team has big ambitions to keep growing and already in my conversations with the performance team, it was clear we share the same desire to keep improving and achieve big things together. I think the team has a lot of potential to develop and I’m excited to be part of that in the next three years.”
Carapaz joins Santiago Buitrago, Lennert Van Eetvelt, Kasper Asgreen, Artem Shmidt and Cedric Beullens as new arrivals for 2027 at NSN, as the team formerly known as Israel-Premier Tech continues its overhaul.
Discover the full breakdown of WorldTour transfers with our guide.
Explore More
