Our Ecuadorian condor took flight from the opening kilometers and fought with everything he had, securing a legendary victory on the queen stage of the 2026 Tour de France and sealing the King of the Mountains jersey.

Richie knew the polka dots were within reach. Winning the stage would be a bonus.

From the start, the entire team went on the attack and committed fully to the fight for mountain points. Richie began Saturday’s final mountain stage with a slender one-point lead in the classification, but our Stage 18 winner immediately went on the offensive for a third consecutive day alongside teammate Ben Healy.

The pair helped drive the early breakaway, with Richie collecting maximum points on the Col de la Croix-de-Fer, at Saint-Julien-Mont-Denis, on the Col du Télégraphe, and atop the Col du Galibier–Souvenir Henri Desgrange, the highest point of this year’s Tour.

Those points made Richie’s lead insurmountable before the race had even reached the final climb to Alpe d’Huez.

But the job was not finished.

Richie continued to work with a small group of breakaway companions. Even when his advantage began to disappear and it looked as though the stage might be slipping away, he kept fighting. Nothing was going to stop him. He was on a mission.

"In the end, it was a brutal stage," Richie said. "I was always thinking about the KOM jersey. After we already confirmed it, everyone knew I had the jersey, and we all collaborated. Sepp Kuss was there, and Jay Hindley also collaborated to maintain the distance from the main group.

"When we entered almost the last climb, it was a bit of head-to-head. I knew they were great riders. The three of us there were all Grand Tour winners: Sepp with La Vuelta, Jay with the Giro, and I've also won the Giro, so it was hard to pull away.

"Rather than trying to fall into the trap of attacking, I knew it was a very, very long effort, and I tried to find my rhythm. I think that’s what helped me get there. Keeping my calm, making my effort, obviously all out, as it has to be.

"On the descent, I didn't know what had happened, and then suddenly I found Sepp. These last kilometers were agonizing. Mamma Mia, I think I suffered right until the very end."

Gritting his teeth, Richie began the final ascent to Alpe d’Huez with a 20-second advantage over his nearest challenger. He held on all the way to the summit to claim his second stage victory of this Tour, following his win at Orcières-Merlette earlier in the race.

"In my head, I was thinking, 'Come on, I have to do it, I have to do it, I have to do it,'" Richie said. "Today I had the inspiration that it was a very beautiful stage to raise my arms. Like they say in Italian, 'non mollare, non mollare' [don't give up, don't give up].

"Keeping calm, keeping a cool head. I knew these last four kilometers were going to make a huge difference. In the end, it was spectacular.

"Look... it hasn't just been about the legs. It's been about experience, knowing how to race, being smart and intelligent. It’s obviously one of the best stages I've won in my sports career."

Richie’s courage and climbing prowess have now earned him the second Tour de France King of the Mountains title of his career. It’s a story of never giving up, and a triumph created by the courage, sacrifice, and collective strength of an entire team.

Sports director Charly Wegelius explained what this victory and the overall Tour de France performance from the squad means to the entire EF Pro Cycling organization.

"It's everything," Charly said. "There's so much work that goes into every hour that the riders race, people who don't even come to the race working at home for a whole year. And when the group can do something like this, I think it's a brilliant gift for them.”

Charly recognized the incredible work put in by all of our riders today.

"Obviously Richie and the whole team spent an enormous amount of energy early in the stage to try and achieve that goal [of getting the jersey]. And then we had to reset and focus on the stage midstage. Once again, Ben did an amazing job, flipping the race on its head and making the gap reasonable, and you can see at the finish, we needed all the time we could get. It’s just great," Charly said.

“When you have a group of riders as strong as this, there's quite a bit going on, but it's fun, because you can really race, and they do all the hard work, but it's so much fun riding with a group like that, that you can really get busy with the race," Charly said.

Congratulations, Richie and the entire squad. We cannot wait to see you wearing the polka dots in Paris on Sunday.