LONDON — Richard Carapaz's move from EF Education-EasyPost to NSN Cycling in 2027 was driven by economic necessity and was "not forced" by the rider, according to EF team boss Jonathan Vaughters. Despite having another year left on his contract, the Ecuadorian will depart after four seasons as the American squad's star rider, with Vaughters confirming the team willingly let their most highly compensated rider leave amid budget cuts of around 15%.
Carapaz has delivered sustained success for EF Education-EasyPost, finishing on the Giro d'Italia podium in 2025 and also inside the top 10 at both the Tour de France and Vuelta a España, while winning nine races including three Tour stages. This year's Tour was a standout, as he won two mountain stages and clinched the polka-dot jersey the team have coveted for so long, before capping his season with fourth place at the Vuelta.
"It was a little bit of a sad situation where our economic resources were stretched to the point that we needed to make some hard decisions," Vaughters told Escape Collective. He pointed to the departure of Oatly — title sponsor of the women's WorldTour squad — alongside soaring operational costs as key factors. "When it comes down to like, 'Well, what are the cost centres that you can get rid of?' Well, there's not so many options, right? A very simple option would be to just let your most highly compensated rider leave." Vaughters added: "We willingly let Richie go. It was not forced," and stressed: "It was not a Brad Wiggins situation where we were fighting it tooth and nail," referring to the Briton's move to the nascent Team Sky project after his fourth-place Tour de France finish with Vaughters' squad, then known as Garmin-Slipstream, which Vaughters eventually allowed to avoid a lengthy legal battle.
EF Education-EasyPost have been active in the transfer window but have focused on value for money, picking up the struggling former Giro d'Italia winner Tao Geoghegan Hart on a one-year deal, as well as former junior world champion Emil Herzog. Team director Tom Southam has told Cyclingnews how the Carapaz void will require a number of other riders to step up to the plate as the squad reshapes its leadership for 2027.