UAE Team Emirates-XRG take the leader’s ochre jersey with Narváez after hilltop victory
Saturday 25 January, 2025
Jhonatan Narváez produced a ride of the highest quality to win stage 5 of the Santos Tour Down Under and take the lead of the race atop Willunga Hill.
The Ecuadorian national champion bided his time up the second and final ascent of Australia’s most iconic climb and with a little over 200m to ride, the 27-year-old produced a race-winning sprint to leave his rivals chasing his coattails. With the victory and associated bonus seconds, Narváez takes an all-important nine-second lead of the Tour Down Under heading into the sixth and final stage on Sunday.
Having started the day in second place on general classification, Narváez was positioned expertly by his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates throughout the stage.
Undeterred by crosswind chaos in advance of the final climb, the new race leader produced a valiant display to stay in touch with his rivals and allow himself the opportunity to sprint for victory. In claiming stage 5, Narváez takes UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s first victory of the 2025 campaign and takes the ochre jersey into the final stage.
“We planned to win the race with Jay or with me,” Narváez told the awaiting media after the finish. “I was feeling well every day and obviously Jay had a crash yesterday, so it was the plan for me to go for the win today and I am so glad we did it.
“I think we managed it really well today because Ineos made the crosswinds but in the end, we came back and I survived the climb to do the sprint,” he continued, before looking ahead to stage 6 on Sunday.
“In this race, I think this gap is a lot and we will try to manage it tomorrow. It is a short stage and it will be fast and hot, but we have a good strong team to manage it.”
From the flag drop, UAE Team Emirates were at the head of the action through Narváez’s roommate, Pablo Torres. The 19-year-old Spaniard attacked off the front of the peloton and joined a breakaway alongside five other riders. Sitting close to the race leader at the beginning of the stage, however, Torres was not allowed much leeway by the team of then-race leader, Javier Romo.
With his presence up front hampering the chances of the breakaway, Torres was forced to drop back to the peloton and return to the side of his teammates. His good work would not end there, though, with the youngster providing invaluable support for Narváez and Jay Vine throughout the afternoon.
The breakaway of the day managed to gain a healthy advantage but with two ascents of Willunga Hill on the cards, their hopes were always likely to be extinguished. As UAE Team Emirates-XRG worked hard to position its leaders, the pace of the peloton became ferocious within the final 40km.
On the first ascent of Willunga Hill, it was Jayco AlUla who produced a pair of probing attacks from Chris Harper and Mauro Schmid, but to his credit, Narváez remained calm and managed his effort. With a fast descent out of the way and Willunga Hill within view once more, Ineos Grenadiers dropped the hammer to produce a series of splits in the peloton, no doubt taking advantage of a healthy crosswind.
Both Vine and Narváez remained together in the second group on the road and little by little, a peloton began to reconvene towards the base of the final ascent. Never panicking, the Ecuadorian national champion tucked himself within the group and negotiated the final few bends before the road veered uphill.
Once on the climb, then-leader Romo produced a stinging attack that distanced his opponents and for a period, looked likely to stick. However, the group of favourites behind worked in unison to limit Romo’s advantage and pull themselves back to the front of the race. At this point, it was clear that bonus seconds over the finish line would be of the utmost importance, with Narváez beginning the day just four seconds shy of the race lead.
As such, the Ecuadorian patiently awaited the final few hundred metres before unleashing his sprint and showing his rivals a fresh pair of heels. Manoeuvring his hands from the hoods to the drops of his handlebars, Narváez accelerated with might and hit the front of the race for the first time. The 27-year-old had correctly analysed that a lead heading into the final left-hand bend would be essential, and so it proved.
Rounding the corner in first position, Narváez burst towards the finish line and rode to his first victory in UAE Team Emirates-XRG colours. It was no less than his performance deserved, with Oscar Onley and Finn Fisher-Black the next riders over the line.
“It was fantastic, absolutely,” commented sports director Fabio Baldato. “We hoped, we prepared and we went close on stages 3 and 4 – now finally, Jhony did a fantastic job on Willunga. The whole team were amazing from the start, all day next to Jhony, and I am really happy. We have already been here with the guys for two weeks and we just have a great group, with a great team spirit. It is the kind of victory which gives you even more satisfaction.
“With Jhony, we know he just needs to be confident in himself. He is a super talent who is super strong, but sometimes he just needs a push to believe in himself more and today he did a super job. I hope this gives him a boost to be absolutely sure of his potential. He is such a powerful and professional guy, he really deserves this.”
Narváez’s lead in the general classification stands at nine seconds over the second-placed Romo, with Fisher Black and Onley sitting a further three and six seconds down, respectively. The 27-year-old has tied level on 60 points with Sam Welsford in the sprinter’s classification and in the team classification, UAE Team Emirates-XRG sit two seconds behind Lidl-Trek in second place.
Stage 5 results
- Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 3:17:02 (10″ bonus)
- Oscar Onley (Team Picnic PostNL) s.t (6″ bonus)
- Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) s.t (4″ bonus)
General Classification after stage 5
- Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 17:26:02
- Javier Romo (Movistar) +9′
- Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgroghe) +12′
