Derek Gee, Richard Carapaz Out Of Vuelta a España 2025
Derek Gee, Richard Carapaz Out Of Vuelta a España 2025
The first stage of the Vuelta a España 2025 is hours away, and the field will be without two top contenders, as Derek Gee and Richard Carapaz will not race.
The first stage of the Vuelta a España 2025 is just hours away, and the starting field will be without two more top contenders, as Canadian Derek Gee and Ecuador's Richard Carapaz both have been forced to miss the race.
Though Gee was expected to be part of Israel - Premier Tech's roster, he was not included, leading to a lot of questions and speculation.
While it has not yet been confirmed, the buzz around the cycling world is that the omission has to do with ongoing discussions about Gee's contract and possible move to another team.
Carapaz, on the other hand, was forced to withdraw from the Tour de France in July due to gastrointestinal issues he began to encounter while training at home in Ecuador, and the illness and recovery severely impacted his training for La Vuelta.
The third (and final) Grand Tour of the season gets underway Saturday in northern Italy's Turin and will run through Sept. 14, when it concludes in Madrid.
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Gee is a three-time Canadian national champion and really burst onto the international scene in 2023 when he finished second in four stages of the Giro d'Italia and finished second in the Mountains Classification and Points Classification, while finishing 22nd overall.
At the 2025 Giro, Gee finished fourth in the General Classification and was among the favorites to make a run at the title at the Vuelta.
Carapaz is an Olympic champion (Tokyo 2020), won the Giro d'Italia in 2019, was second in La Vuelta in 2020, won the Tour de Suisse in 2021, was third in the Tour de France in 2021, was second in the Giro in 2022 and fourth in La Vuelta in 2024, among many other top finishes and wins.
Because of the duration of his illness and the recovery time, his EF Education team revealed this week that he's simply not fit to race in La Vuelta this year and instead will turn his focus on some late-season one-day events and the UCI Road World Championships in September.
"I couldn't train for more than two or three days at a time," Carapaz was quoted as saying in a statement by the EF Education team.
Carapaz also gave an update on his recovery.
"I'm almost fully recovered now," he said. "The next goals we've set are the Italian classics, especially Il Lombardia, and also the World Championships in Rwanda.
"It's a very special World Championship," he wrote. "That's why I came to Ecuador: to do some altitude training, regain motivation and focus 100T%. Certain factors play in our favor, and we want to make the most of them."
Last summer, Carapaz became the first Ecuadorian to wear the yellow leader's jersey in the Tour de France, where he led for a day. Yet he was not selected by his country to defend his Olympic title in Paris.
Carapaz, who finished third in Giro in June, said his team was showing "better power figures than ever in training" before his illness.
The entry list for La Vuelta 2025 includes more than 180 riders from 23 teams.
The race will feature 21 stages of varying terrain and difficulty, including two time trials, while two rest days keep the riders as fresh as possible for the 3,151-kilometer trek across Italy, France, Andorra and Spain.
- AFP contributed to this report.
How To Watch The Vuelta A España 2025
For Canadian viewers, the Vuelta A España 2025 will be streaming on FloBikes and the FloSports app.
To see the start and estimated finish times for each stage, click here.
Highlights, race replays and breaking news will be available on both platforms.
Stage highlights, replays and more breaking news, including recaps and rider interviews, will be on both platforms.
In the United States, the Vuelta a España is scheduled to be broadcast on the NBC Networks and streaming on the NBC Peacock app.
When Does The Vuelta A España 2025 Start?
The Vuelta A España 2025 starts Aug. 23 and will conclude Sept. 14.
The schedule includes 21 stages and two rest days (Sept. 1 and Sept. 8).
Every day, the cyclists start together. Every stage varies in distance and physical demand, and the characteristics of each stage determine what type of rider should excel or how the race should finish.
For example, some stages feature flat finishes, and that means the sprinters likely will be battling for those stage wins.
How Long Is The Vuelta A España 2025?
The course for the Vuelta A España 2025 will be 3,151 kilometers or approximately 1,958 miles.
How Many Teams/Riders Compete In The Vuelta A España?
Traditionally, there are 22 teams and up to 176 competitors in the Vuelta A España.
The 2025 race will feature 23 teams and more than 180 riders.
Who Won The Vuelta A España In 2024?
Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic won the Vuelta a España in 2024 for a record-equaling fourth career victory at the storied race.
The former ski jumper has been plagued by crashes and injuries, including two significant ones in 2024, but he continues to persevere and managed to land himself among the year’s most memorable moments with wins at the 2024 Critérium du Dauphiné and La Vuelta.
Roglic, who won the Vuelta a España in 2019, 2020 and 2021, joined Spain’s Roberto Heras as the event’s only four-time champions (2000, 2003, 2004, 2005) and made it a clean sweep for Slovenia in the Grand Tours in 2024, with Pogacar winning the Giro and TDF.
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