2021 Olympic gold medalist Richard Kalapas has withdrawn from the road world championships due to a family emergency, returning to South America instead.

Kalapas, who was considered a strong contender for next Sunday's road race, explained in a message on his personal website that he was forced to withdraw from the event because his daughter was to undergo emergency surgery.

Although the surgery was successful, the 2021 Olympic road champion said that “my daughter still needs care and I have not been able to train for several days due to this family emergency and am not at the level physically or mentally fit for Ecuador.”

“For this reason, I have decided not to compete in the World Championships in Zurich.

Calapaz's early departure follows the departure last week of another top Ecuadorian rider, Honatan Narvaez, who is reportedly still suffering from the after effects of COVID-19.

Like Calapaz, Narvaez was seen as a dark horse for Sunday's road race. In particular, he was one of the few riders able to hold off rainbow jersey favorite Tadej Pogachar in the opening stage of this year's Giro d'Italia.

Calapaz finished fourth in the Vuelta a España, his first Grand Tour victory since finishing third in the 2021 Tour de France. His superior climbing skills and long-distance breakaway made Calapaz a natural outsider for Zurich's rugged course, as he did in an 80-km solo sprint on the Vuelta's supermountain stage 9.

Ecuador can only hope for a trio of former national road champions in the future: Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda, his cousin Jefferson Alexander Cepeda, and Jonathan Cassade, the latter of whom won the 2020 Mount Etna He is also a stage winner of the Giro d'Italia. [Unlimited access to all coverage of the 2024 UCI Road World Championships, including breaking news and analysis from local journalists, including junior, under-23 and elite time trial and road races. Details.