The president of Ecuador congratulates Richard Carapaz for his outstanding performance in the Vuelta a España
Ecuador's president, Lenín Moreno, expressed his pride on Sunday for the surprising performance of his compatriot Richard Carapaz (Ineos) in the Vuelta a España, where he achieved the red jersey as leader of the competition.
"Carapaz, you are amazing, you are historic! Our idol dons the red jersey as he becomes the leader of the Vuelta a España in this edition," Moreno said in a message on his official Twitter account.
"Another title that fills 18 million Ecuadorians with pride!" wrote the president on that social network, where he usually comments on the performance of athletes from his country who have achieved important feats.
The assumption of the cyclist from the province of Carchi, bordering Colombia, as the leader of the Vuelta a España has sparked a wave of positive comments on social media, where his performance last year as champion of the Giro d'Italia has also been remembered.
Carapaz took the lead in the Vuelta a España on Sunday after completing the sixth stage, which was held between Biescas and Formigal, covering 146.6 kilometers.
The Spaniard Ion Izagirre (Astana) has been the winner of this stage, where he was also a protagonist with his brother Gorka in the escape of the day.
Ion Izaguirre crossed the finish line in Formigal on his own with a time of 3h.41,00, ahead of Canadian Michael Woods (EF) and Portuguese Rui Costa (UAE).
Richard Carapaz, the best among the favorites, saw the weakness of Primoz Roglic in the ascent and left the Slovenian behind in the last kilometers, who lost the red jersey and 43 seconds to the Ecuadorian.
Behind Carapaz in the general classification is the British rider Hugh Carthy (EF), 18 seconds behind; third is the Irishman Dan Martin (UAE), 20 seconds behind; fourth is Roglic, 30 seconds behind; and fifth is Enric Mas (Movistar), 1.07 behind. (D)