When UAE Team Emirates-XRG were left with five riders lying on the ground of stage 2 of this year's Giro d'Italia, it looked as though they may play a relatively absent role compared to the all-conquering machine we've seen operate as cycling's top team in recent memory. But even with their three top climbers abandoning the race after that dark day in Bulgaria, they sat as the team with the most stage wins after eight days of racing, capturing half of the stages on offer since they were reduced to just five riders.
Jhonathan Narváez added his second and the team's third win on Saturday after a full-gas day over the Muri in Le Marche on stage 8 of the Giro, with UAE putting on another masterclass from the breakaway to continue saving their race. Igor Arrieta was responsible for their other victory, after his rollercoaster day out to Potenza.
Even without Tadej Pogačar, Isaac del Toro, or João Almeida – their top three riders – UAE's depth has still left them in a position to dominate Grand Tour stages, despite how hindered they should have been by that mass crash in the rain.
Their tally of 97 wins coming from 20 different riders in 2025 highlights exactly why that is, but it really has been about having a never-say-die attitude for the likes of Narváez, who has proved one of the top signings in cycling since he left Ineos for UAE.
Narváez only found himself up the road after a brutal, two-hour fight for the break heading out of Chieti and the Abruzzo region, with teammate Mikkel Bjerg doing the lion's share of the work to get away, and Uno-X's Andreas Leknessund joining them for the ride.
Baldato was naturally full of praise for Bjerg, who stayed with Narváez to guide him through the headwind until they reached the final 10km and a grim uphill run towards Fermo, where the Ecuadorian Champion saw off Leknessund and ground his way to a solo victory.
"Everything went perfectly today. At one moment, we were thinking the bunch would go together to the climbs, but then we got Bjerg in front, and you saw Narváez went full gas," said Baldato, describing the breathless break-formation.
"You need to handle this situation with a teammate, then give everything like Mikkel, who was fantastic today. He raced for the stage; he raced for Jonny. Big congrats to him, he sacrificed himself for the team."
UAE's bad luck for the Giro started even before the start, with the abandons of leader Adam Yates, Jay Vine, and Marc Soler all coming after their planned figurehead João Almeida was forced to cancel his participation before the Grande Partenza. As that bad luck would have it, though, they have ended up, yes, with only five riders, but liberated and able to extract their maximum as ruthless stage hunters.
"We are a team; if we didn't lose the three guys, we would do it differently. I know, we know we have a little bit more space," said Baldato. "On GC, we don't really have a guy to stay there, and then you have a bit more freedom – you need to use that in the right way.
"It was difficult to lose three guys from our team on the second stage, but here we are fighting, and still two weeks to go," added Narváez, who could mop up several stages in the second week, with multiple punchy days on offer, and plenty of chances to try and get into breaks.
He won't be the only one, too, with Bjerg clearly being in top form, and stage-winner Arrieta, but also young Swiss rider Jan Christen. With their other rider being Antonio Morgado, it wouldn't be overly surprising if all five ended up with stage wins by the time they reach Rome.
"We were joking about the Vuelta last year, [where we won] 7 stages, we want to beat that - but it's a joke," said Baldato, with the limit looking endless for UAE on any non-mountaintop finish.
"No, we will still go for stages and have riders who want to do something – Jan Christen, for example, is really hoping for a stage, we'll see. But we'll celebrate today first, it's a great result."
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