Ecuadorian national champion seals his first WorldTour GC victory and UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s first stage race success of the campaign
Beneath the scorching summer sun in Adelaide, UAE Team Emirates-XRG landed its first WorldTour GC victory of the season through Jhonatan Narváez. The 27-year-old finished safely within the peloton on the sixth and final stage to bring home the ochre jersey and achieve the first WorldTour stage race win of his career.
Meanwhile, Narváez’s teammate, Rui Oliveira, achieved fourth place on the stage. The Portugese used his nous to get involved in the sprint for stage honours, and narrowly missed out on the day’s podium.
After his winter transfer to UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Narváez has made himself at home within his new surroundings and could not have wished for a better start to the year. Taking the ochre jersey on Saturday with his exhilerating win on Willunga Hill, the Ecuadorian national champion was rewarded for a consistent display through the week which has seen him finish on the podium of three out of the six stages.
“It was not an easy day today in this criterium with a lot of corners, but in the end, we won the race and I think this is the biggest win of my career,” Narváez told the media after the finish. “This race is one of the most important in the calendar because it is the first event of the year and it’s a WorldTour race – this is really big for me.
“Looking ahead now, my big goals now are to be in top shape for the Flemish and Ardennes Classics before preparing to race the Tour de France.”
Narváez carried a nine-second lead into the final day but could not rest on his laurels, with Oscar Onley and Finn Fisher-Black snapping at his heels. As such, Narváez’s UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates worked as a unit to keep the 27-year-old safe as the peloton raced through the streets of Adelaide.
Facing temperatures in the mid-30s, it was no procession for the team on Sunday. But as the laps ticked down and the finish drew close, Narváez remained out of trouble and well-positioned within the pack. Julius Johansen produced another sterling effort to commandeer the front of the peloton, whilst Rune Herregodts, Jay Vine, Rui Oliveira, Pablo Torres and Marc Soler all threw their hats in the ring to marshal Narváez to the front. This was a complete team performance to close the curtain on two fruitful weeks in Australia.
Twice a stage winner at the Giro d’Italia, Narváez has gone one better than his runner-up placing at last year’s Tour Down Under. With his victory in the ochre jersey this time around, the Ecuadorian national champion can lay claim to his first WorldTour GC success, which is no less than his performance has deserved. In leaving the land Down Under with the general classification and his new title as the ‘King of Willunga Hill,’ Narváez has made a perfect start to life as a UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider.
In the warm afterglow of victory, sports director Fabio Baldato was in fine spirits after the race.
“It was a fantastic victory that we brought to the end. Today was a nervous stage because even though we felt safe with the time gap, you never know what might happen with circuit racing. It was really nervous for the sprint and we obviously saw a crash at the end, but luckily it was inside the final 3km,” he said.
“Chapeau to Rui for making a really strong sprint. We had a fantastic week before the race to recon stages and do some training, and over the past week we have only gotten closer. If I look back now, it has been a long time together and we are lucky to have been working with a great group out here – both staff and riders.
“We go home as winners of the first WorldTour race of the season and I hope this is a good launch for the rest of the year.”
Stage 6 results
- Sam Welsford (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) 1:53:14 (10″ bonus)
- Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) s.t (6″ bonus)
- Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) s.t (4″ bonus)
General Classification after stage 6
- Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 17:26:02
- Javier Romo (Movistar) +9′
- Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgroghe) +12′
