Richard Carapaz enjoys special family moment at Vuelta a España

Ecuadorian cyclist Richard Carapaz experienced a special family moment before competing in the fourth stage of the Vuelta a España on Tuesday, August 25, 2026. Carapaz and his teammates from EF Education EasyPost welcomed their families for a pre-race gathering.

Carapaz, known as 'The Locomotive of Carchi,' rejoined his wife and three children, two older children and an infant, before the race began. The EF Education EasyPost team and Carapaz himself shared images of the reunion on social media. He shared a conversation with his family, posed for photographs, and shared affectionate goodbyes before heading to the 104.8-kilometer stage.

Following the reunion, Carapaz delivered his best performance of the initial four stages, finishing eighth in the stage and climbing to sixth place in the general classification. He currently holds a time of 07:42:49, trailing the leader Tadej Pogacar by three minutes and 50 seconds. Carapaz is the top-ranked Latin American cyclist in the competition.

Before this Vuelta a España, Carapaz had a successful season. He competed in the Tour de France, finishing eighth overall and winning two stages, along with the mountains and super-combativity classifications. His career highlight includes a third-place finish in the 2021 Tour de France. He also secured second place in the Clásica de San Sebastián and the Tour de Suisse earlier in 2026.