Richard Carapaz Moves Within Reach of Vuelta a España Podium After Stage 12

Richard Carapaz moved closer to the Vuelta a España podium after finishing ninth on a demanding mountain stage, lifting him to fourth place overall.

The EF Education-EasyPost rider completed the 166.6-kilometer route from Vera to the Calar Alto astronomical observatory in 4 hours, 33 minutes and 16 seconds. The stage featured long, difficult climbs, and Carapaz rode aggressively in pursuit of both the stage victory and a place among the race’s top three.

Slovenian Jakob Omrzel of Team Bahrain Victorious won in 4:29:53. Spain’s Urko Berrade finished second in 4:31:49, while Colombia’s Santiago Buitrago took third in 4:32:06.

Carapaz’s overall time of 40:35:44 moved him past Britain’s Oscar Onley, who dropped to fifth with 40:36:20. Spain’s Enric Mas leads the race in 40:31:51, followed by Slovenia’s Primož Roglič in 40:33:36 and Austria’s Felix Gall in 40:33:57.

Carapaz is 1 minute 47 seconds behind Gall, with nine stages remaining to close the gap. The next stage will cover 192.8 kilometers between Almuñécar and Loja, with several climbs before a fast descent and finish in Loja.