Carapaz withdrew from the World Cup due to a family emergency

The Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz announced his decision to withdraw from the 2024 Cycling World Cup road race, in the Swiss city of Zurich, because he had to return to his country to attend to a family emergency.

Carapacein a letter reproduced on social networks, assured that in the last hours he left his concentration in Zurich to return to Ecuador “promptly”, when he learned that his little daughter underwent emergency surgery .

“Fortunately, the operation went well. However, it still requires care,” said the Olympic champion of the specialty at the Tokyo 2020 Games.

“Because of this emergency, I have not been able to train for several days and my condition is not in line with what it should be in Ecuador, neither physically nor mentally,” added the cyclist and insisted that for this reason he made “the decision not to participate in the Zurich 2024 World Cup”.

For Carapaz, representing Ecuador is one of his “greatest responsibilities” as an athlete, but he stressed that “there are circumstances that go beyond sport, and the health of my family is my priority.”

He thanked the Ecuadorian Cycling Federation (FEC) with whom he was the leader of the national team to participate in the Zurich World Cup, and took the opportunity to wish “all the luck in the world” to his teammates.

With the retreat of Carapaz, the second casualty after the retirement of Jonathan Narváezaffected by covid-19, the Ecuadorian team was left without two of its key figures.

In addition to Carapaz, the Ecuadorian men’s team that will participate in the World Cup consists of Alexander Cepeda, Alveiro Cepeda and Jonathan Caicedo.

Ecuador will also be represented in Zurich by the women’s team led by Miriam Nunezwho will be joined by Natalia Vásquez and Marcela Peñafiel.

Also, the Ecuadorian youth team consists of Natalie Revelo, Daniela Carphio, Mateo Ramírez and Haidar Zúñiga.