Richard Carapaz’s high-profile move from EF Education-EasyPost to NSN Cycling was born of economic necessity, according to EF team boss Jonathan Vaughters, who has confirmed the transfer was "not forced" by the rider.
Carapaz has been the US team’s star rider over the past four seasons, finishing on the Giro d’Italia podium in 2025 and also in the top 10 of 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, and he capped off his season with fourth place at the Vuelta.
However, despite that success and despite having another year left on his contract, Carapaz will move on in 2027, which is explained primarily by the team's ailing finances.
"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.
Vaughters indicated that the team were facing budget cuts of around 15%, with the departure of Oatly – a title sponsor of the women’s WorldTour squad – a key reason, alongside soaring operational costs.
"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."
As such, it would appear that Carapaz was not exactly poached by NSN Cycling.
"We willingly let Richie go. It was not forced," Vaughters said.
"It was not a Brad Wiggins situation where we were fighting it tooth and nail," he added, referring to the Briton’s move to the nascent Team Sky project in the wake of his fourth-place Tour de France finish with Vaughters’ squad, then known as Garmin-Slipstream. Vaughters eventually let the move happen in a bid 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 the 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.
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