“I’m convinced this is the right place for me”: Carapaz joins Andrés Iniesta’s NSN

It is official. Richard Carapaz will race for the NSN Cycling Team starting in 2027. The Spanish-Swiss team has confirmed the addition of the Ecuadorian for the next three seasons, until the end of 2029. The Olympic champion and winner of the 2019 Giro d'Italia leaves EF Education-EasyPost before the end of his contract.

Carapaz: "I have the same motivation as when I signed my first professional contract"

The confirmation comes just a day after it was revealed that Carapaz was preparing to leave EF to join the project linked to Andrés Iniesta. Although initially INEOS Grenadiers and Pinarello Q36.5 also appeared among his possible destinations, it has ultimately been NSN that has secured the services of the Ecuadorian.

The official team statement confirms that Carapaz will play a leading role in the team's aspirations for the grand tours. At 33 years old, the rider has accumulated 26 professional victories and has reached the podium of the three grand tours, in addition to winning Olympic gold in Tokyo.

Carapaz himself has explained that his decision is due to both the team's sporting ambitions and the opportunity to become one of its leaders.

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"For me, it is a huge opportunity as a rider to be part of this project and, above all, to be one of the team leaders. I am very excited. I can't wait to start and, honestly, this reminds me a lot of when I signed my first professional contract, when I was incredibly excited to join the WorldTour. I still have the same motivation as that day and it is a truly amazing feeling."

The Ecuadorian has also highlighted the rapport he found with the sports managers of NSN from their first conversations.

"The NSN project seems very interesting to me and, after our first conversations, I was convinced that it was the right place for me. I am a rider who has achieved great results throughout my career, many of them in the grand tours, and that fits very well with what NSN was looking for."

"The team has great ambitions to continue growing and, even in my conversations with the performance department, it was clear that we share the same desire to keep improving and achieve great things together. I believe the team has a lot of development potential and I am excited to be part of it for the next three years."

NSN believes Carapaz can still deliver his best results

The team's general director, Kjell Carlström, has emphasized that the arrival of the Ecuadorian represents an important step in the growth of the structure, both for his results and for his experience and leadership ability.

"Signing Richard Carapaz is a very important moment for our team and a milestone in the development of our sports project. Richard is a proven champion. His achievements speak for themselves, but what makes him especially valuable is his mentality."

"Richard is known for his fighting character and determination, something we clearly saw in 2026 with his two stage wins in the Tour de France and the mountain jersey, followed by an impressive podium a week later in San Sebastián."

Carlström also believes that Carapaz still has room to achieve great results.

"Richard is one of those riders whose passion for cycling is evident and we believe he still has some of his best performances ahead of him. His experience and leadership will be extremely valuable, not only to help us achieve our sporting goals but also to develop 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 perfectly into our team culture. We are very excited about this new chapter for Richard at NSN Cycling Team."

A team preparing for a leap in level for 2027

The addition of Carapaz completes, for now, a significant renewal of the NSN roster for the upcoming season.

The Ecuadorian will share the team with two other top climbers, Santiago Buitrago and Lennert Van Eetvelt, who also arrive with aspirations to compete for general classifications.

They are joined by Kasper Asgreen, who will continue to be Carapaz's teammate after his departure from EF, Artem Shmidt, and Cedric Beullens, other signings announced for 2027.

With Biniam Girmay as one of its main references for the classics and sprints, NSN is shaping a much more complete roster capable of taking on important objectives in the grand tours.

The arrival of Carapaz means incorporating a rider who has demonstrated his competitive level during 2026, a season in which he won two stages of the Tour de France, claimed his second mountain jersey, finished second in the Clásica de San Sebastián, and ended fourth in the Vuelta a España.