UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider Jhonatan Narvaez clinched his second stage victory of the Giro d'Italia on Saturday after a masterful solo performance in a grueling Stage 8.
Ecuador's Narvaez had earlier won Stage 4 to turn the UAE team's fortunes around after a disastrous Stage 2 last Saturday where a major crash ruled a number of their riders out, including lead rider Adam Yates, Jay Vine and Marc Soler.
The UAE Team Emirates rider defeated Andreas Leknessund on Saturday in a tense pursuit up the final climbs, crossing the line 32 seconds ahead of the Norwegian.
Leknessund led a determined chase in an effort to stay close to Narvaez in the punishing final ascent but was unable to bridge the gap.
After the race, Narvaez thanked teammate Mikkel Bjerg for driving the breakaway to set up a decisive attack on the penultimate climb.
"It was a nice stage for me. I think we played well, with my teammate. He was the man of the day, Mikkel Bjerg and always working for the team," Narvaez said.
"In the end it was about the legs. The first part, the full headwind, on the flat, was really hard. But we never gave up. With 60k to go we rode well, we rode smart and we had the opportunity to go for the stage."
Following Friday's brutal mountain finish on the Blockhaus, in which Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard secured an emphatic victory, the riders moved to the Adriatic coast.
Norway’s Martin Tjotta of Uno-X Mobility saw off the remaining chasers to secure third place, 10 seconds behind compatriot Leknessund.
"It was so hard to get the gap. Then we cooperated well, but Narvaez was stronger in the end, as expected. I cannot be disappointed. Second place was what I could do," Leknessund said.
Narvaez powered to victory in Stage Four on Tuesday. The 29-year-old also won Giro stages in 2020 and 2024, and had not raced this season before the Grand Tour following a crash in January in Australia.
It continued a remarkable turnaround from UAE Team Emirates after their early setback. UAE team rider Igor Arrieta earlier overcame a crash and a wrong turn to win a dramatic Stage 5.
Portuguese Afonso Eulalio retained the overall lead ahead of Vingegaard, finishing two seconds behind his rival.
Stage 8
1. Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): 3:27:26
2. Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility): +32
3. Martin Tjotta (Uno-X Mobility): +42
Overall
1. Afonso Eulalio (Bahrain Victorious): 34:28:42
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike): +3:15
3. Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM Team): +3:34
