Credit: Getty Images
Caption: Narvaez previously competed for Ineos Grenadiers.
Ecuador’s Jhonatan Narvaez claimed victory in stage four of the Giro d’Italia, only three days after being caught in a severe crash that forced three of his UAE Emirates-XRG teammates to abandon the race with serious injuries. The 29-year-old rider outpaced Colombia’s Orluis Aular of Movistar with ease during the uphill finish in Cosenza, southern Italy.
Italy’s Giulio Ciccone of Lidl-Trek finished third and took over the overall leader’s pink jersey, as previous leader Guillermo Thomas Silva of Uruguay crossed the line more than 12 minutes behind. Britain’s Ben Turner of Netcompany Ineos Cycling secured fourth place after helping his teammate Egan Bernal recover ground lost on the stage’s category two climb.
The first real climbing test of the three-week race saw sprinters and heavier riders dropped from the peloton, which covered 14.5 kilometers with gradients reaching up to 11%. With just two kilometers remaining, UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s young Swiss rider Jan Christen launched an attack from the front, forcing the peloton to give chase. Narvaez conserved energy as other teams worked hard to reel in his teammate, leaving him with more power for the sprint finish.
UAE’s legendary four-time Tour de France winner, Tadej Pogacar, is not participating in the Giro as he prepares for the Tour in July. The team lost three riders in Saturday
