Carapaz leaves EF to balance the books: "It's a simple decision to cut costs."

Richard Carapaz 's move from EF Education-EasyPost to NSN Cycling was born out of genuine financial necessity. This was confirmed by the American team's team manager, Jonathan Vaughters , who specified that the transfer "was not forced" by the rider.

Over the last four years, Carapaz has been the undisputed leader of the American team: third on the podium at the 2025 Giro d'Italia , but also in the top 10 at both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España , with a haul of nine victories, including three stages at the Grande Boucle.

The last Tour was perhaps his masterpiece: two mountain stage victories and the polka-dot jersey, the trophy the team had long sought. The season then concluded with an excellent fourth place at the Vuelta.

Yet, despite his successes and an additional year on his contract, the Ecuadorian champion will be leaving in 2027. The main reason? The team's struggling finances.

“It was a bit of a sad situation: our financial resources were stretched to the limit and we had to make difficult decisions,” Vaughters explained to Escape Collective .

The manager spoke of budget cuts of around 15% , mainly due to the departure of Oatly, title sponsor of the women's WorldTour team, as well as the surge in operating costs.

"When it comes to figuring out which cost centers you can eliminate, there aren't many options. A very simple solution is to let go of the highest-paid rider," Vaughters admitted.

In short, Carapaz wasn't snatched away by the competition: "We let Richie go voluntarily. It wasn't a forced decision," the manager clarified. "It wasn't a Brad Wiggins situation, where we fought tooth and nail," he added, referring to the Briton's move to the nascent Team Sky after finishing fourth at the Tour with Garmin-Slipstream. At the time, Vaughters let Wiggins go to avoid a lengthy legal battle.

EF Education-EasyPost has moved into the market by focusing on value for money: it has signed former Giro d'Italia winner Tao Geoghegan Hart , who is looking for a relaunch, and former junior world champion Emil Herzog on annual contracts.