Richard Carapaz signs with NSN Cycling, the Iniesta-backed team, for 2027 onward

Transfer announced on Friday

The Ecuadorian climber Richard Carapaz has agreed to ride for NSN Cycling, the team announced on Friday, 16 October 2026. The 33-year-old had been with the American squad EF Education-EasyPost since 2023 and still had a year left on that contract. Accounts differ on the length of the new deal. Some describe two seasons, while others say it runs from 2027 to 2029, which covers three seasons. The team holds a Swiss licence and has its sporting base in Catalonia.

Results behind the move

Carapaz won the Giro d'Italia in 2019 and took Olympic road race gold at Tokyo, a race held in 2021 because of the pandemic. He finished second at the Giro in 2022, third in 2025 and second at the Vuelta in 2020. At the 2026 Tour de France he won two stages, at Orcières-Merlette and on the Alpe d'Huez, and he took the mountains classification, a title he also won in 2024. He was eighth overall in France and fourth overall at this year's Vuelta, after Tadej Pogacar withdrew. He also finished second behind Pogacar at the Tour de Suisse. Across eleven professional seasons he has 26 victories and 10 stage wins in the three Grand Tours.

A team looking for a leader

NSN Cycling is a Swiss-licensed squad whose co-owner is the former Spanish footballer Andrés Iniesta. Until now the team had no rider aiming at the overall classification in stage races, and the Carapaz deal is presented as a step up in its ambitions. The squad relied on sprinter Bini Girmay, who had three wins this season. The team took over from Israel-Premier Tech a year ago. Carapaz is its sixth signing for next season, following Santiago Buitrago (26), Artem Shmidt (22) and Lennert Van Eetvelt (25), whom the team plans as a general classification rider. SAPO also lists Kasper Asgreen among the recent arrivals.

Iniesta and Carapaz react

The team released a video in which Iniesta phones Carapaz to welcome him to the squad. Carapaz said he saw the move as a great opportunity to be part of the project and to take one of the leadership roles in the team. He compared the feeling to signing his first professional contract, when he was eager to reach the WorldTour, and said his motivation today is the same. Managing director Kjell Carlström called the signing an important moment and a milestone for the team's sporting project. The new deal starts in 2027, according to the reports that give a full timeline.