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Richard Carapaz will miss the elite men\u2019s road race at the 2026 world championships in Montreal after deciding his health needs to come first. The Ecuadorian was expected to play a key role for his national team after a strong Grand Tour season, but medical staff and his team determined that racing was not the right choice.<\/p>\n
The veteran climber has shown he has the form that has seen him take some big wins in his long career, including gold at the Olympics, the 2019 Giro d\u2019Italia, and multiple stages of the Tour de France and Vuelta A Espa\u00f1a.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most responsible thing to do is to put my health first and opt for a calm recovery, to avoid putting the rest of my career at risk,\u201d Carapaz said on social media.<\/a><\/p>\n Jhonatan Narv\u00e1ez remains on Ecuador\u2019s lineup, with Jonathan Klever Caicedo taking the second spot for the team.<\/p>\n The news follows another big star withdrawing from the road worlds, Danish ace Mattias Skjelmose. The climber and puncheur<\/em> was expected to co-lead with former world champ, Mads Pedersen.<\/p>\n \u201cI had to tell Michael M\u00f8rk\u00f8v, the former pro and Denmark\u2019s national coach, about an hour ago that I have to pull out because my body can\u2019t take any more,\u201d Skjelmose told TV 2 Sport.<\/a><\/p>\n Meanwhile, Osgoode, Ont.\u2019s Derek Gee-West has pulled out of Sunday\u2019s time trial and the mixed relay.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, the ribs didn\u2019t make it out of the crash at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montr\u00e9al in one piece, so I won\u2019t be lining up for the individual time trial or the mixed team relay. I\u2019ll do everything I can to line up next Sunday for the road race in the best shape possible in front of the home crowd, and can\u2019t wait to see the Canadians rip it up across the rest of the events,\u201d the Lidl-Trek rider said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n Canadian Cycling Magazine<\/em> is in Montreal for all the races, so be sure to check back here and our social media<\/a> for a whole bunch of content!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\nOther last-minute withdrawals<\/h2>\n