The Ecuadorian Cycling Federation (FEC) announced on Monday that it has chosen Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers) for the single spot for the Paris Olympic Games road events over defending champion Richard Carapaz.
Narváez will compete in both the time trial and road race in Paris.
The FEC explained that it appointed the Ecuadorian representative “as requested by the Ecuadorian Olympic Committee (COE), on the basis of federal autonomy and the regulations issued.”
In a statement issued on social media last week, Carapaz decried “a lack of transparency and fairness” in the selection process, and that they were “clearly biased and lack the fundamental principles of sports justice and equity.”
However, on Monday, Carapaz issued a video wishing Narvaéz luck in Paris and thanking his supporters.
The FEC only released its selection criteria in March but used UCI points gained from January 1 to May 21, 2024, to choose the top-ranked rider.
Carapaz was ranked higher than Narváez in the UCI rankings, which calculate points on a rolling 12-month calendar, but the situation was reversed in results taken only from this year.
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The EF Education First-EasyPost rider complained that the revision to the selection criteria came out after the start of the period to gain points had already begun.
“This should have been issued at the end of the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games or at the end of last season when all athletes started with zero points and could plan our season equitably,” Carapaz stated.
“However, its publication in an improvised manner and without room for manoeuvre seems to be designed to keep me out of Paris and exempt the president of the FEC from any responsibility.”
Carapaz had appealed to the Ministry of Sport to intervene, but the FEC chose to finalise the selection before the request could be accepted.
In 2021, Carapaz became the first Ecuadorian athlete to win a gold medal in cycling at the Olympics. He raced in Tokyo with Narváez.
This season, Carapaz won his national time trial championship, while Narváez won the road race. Carapaz finished second overall in the Tour Colombia and won the final stage. He also won a stage of the Tour de Romandie.
Narváez won the Down Under Classic and finished second in the Tour Down Under in January, and more recently won the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia.
