Jhonatan Narváez took his third stage win of the 2026 Giro d'Italia in another masterclass of breakaway racing.
The Ecuadorian rider won stage 4 in Cosenza, stage 8 in Fermo and stuck again on the twisting Ligurian roads to Chiavari. This time, his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates had to work hard to chase early attacks, but he then fought to get in the decisive move and beat Enric Mas (Movistar) in a two-rider sprint.
Narváez almost makes winning look easy, but he made it clear it never is, and it was not for the third time in a week.
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"Modern cycling is not just power, it's about how you race," Narváez said, carefully choosing his words.
"Today we also raced full gas from kilometre zero to the end, so it's not only about legs and talent, you have to think even about how to take the corners and the descents. The guys crashed just in front of me today; the final result could have been very different.
"Today we planned to go in the break, but we missed it like three times, so we had to use all the team to put me up there. We raced hard to get the result."
UAE Team Emirates-XRG lost GC leaders Adam Yates and Jay Vine, plus Marc Soler, in the stage 2 crash in Bulgaria. Narváez has been leading the team's fight back with support from his teammates.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG have now won four of the 11 stages, with Igor Arrieta also winning stage 5 to Potenza. More are likely before the finish in Rome.
The team and Narváez refused to give up hope.
"We have a good atmosphere in the team. Our sport directors are good, Matxin is always in the car and is a clever person," Narváez said.
"If you come to a race, you have to have the motivation to race hard. We never lost the motivation."
Narváez has 'saved' UAE Team Emirates-XRG Giro d'Italia campaign, but the team may have to look elsewhere in 2027 for similar results in stage races and Grand Tours.
According to the usually well-informed Daniel Benson's Substack account, Narváez has already agreed terms to return to Netcompany Ineos in 2027, where he raced between 2019 and 2024.
New contracts cannot be confirmed until August, and Narváez was carefully vague when asked what he wants from his next team.
"This is a good question for my manager. I think he's really busy at this time…" Narváez said, knowing that his contract value and admiration for his racing skills are rising with every stage win at the Giro.
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