NARVAEZ COMPLETES HAT-TRICK WITH BREAKAWAY WIN OVER MAS IN STAGE 11
Ecuador’s Jhonathan Narvaez took his third victory of the Giro d’Italia – and a fourth triumph for UAE Team Emirates-XRG – by out-kicking Spain’s Enric Mas (Movistar) in a thrilling conclusion to Stage 11 in Chiavari on the Ligurian coast.
Narvaez and Mas were part of a stellar 17-man move that eventually came together on the first of three categorised climbs in the picturesque Cinque Terre national park.
Veteran climber Mas tried his best to distance his breakaway companions on the succession of punchy climbs – but the 31-year-old met his match in the in-form Narvaez, who clung on before showing his class on the flat dash to the line.
A third win for the 29-year-old saw him move to within 19 points of Frenchman Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) in the maglia ciclamino standings. As for the fabled pink jersey, Portugal’s Afonso Eulalio (Bahrain Victorious) came through his seventh day in the maglia rosa unscathed.
Eulalio finished comfortably in the main peloton over three minutes in arrears to retain his 27-second lead over Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike). The only major change in the general classification saw the Australian Chris Harper (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling) move up to 10th place after taking an impressive fourth in the exciting stage from Porcari in Tuscany.
Narvaez betters Mas in two-way sprint finish to clinch stage hat-trick
Video credit: TNT Sports
Narvaez was not present in an early move that included home favourite Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek). In fact, Narvaez was also not involved in the next wave of attacks, when a solid nine-man chase group went clear in pursuit of a trio that finally established a gap after an hour of racing at breakneck speed.
Harper was one of the three riders alongside Italy’s Mattia Bais (Polti VisitMalta) and Norway’s Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility).
UAE Team Emirates-XRG sent their domestiques Mikkel Bjerg and Igor Arrieta – winner of Stage 5 – to the front to pave the way for Narvaez, who made his move with just over 80km remaining on the first categorised climb of the day, the Passo del Termine.
Narvaez made light work of closing the gap, and a 17-man break finally formed before Bais took the points over the summit.
Also in the move were Bais’ Polti VisitMalta team-mates Alessandro Tonelli and Ludovico Crescioli, three XDS Astana riders in Alberto Bettiol, Christian Scaroni and Diego Ulissi, two Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe riders – Nico Denz and Aleksandr Vlasov – as well as Harper, Narvaez and Mas, along with Martin Marcellusi (Bardiani CSF 7 Sabre), Brieuc Rolland (Groupama-FDJ United), Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto Intermarche) and Soudal Quick-Step duo Jasper Stuyven and Filippo Zana.
With the gap back to the peloton growing to over three minutes, Bais took maximum points again over the Cat.2 Colle di Guaitarola before the breakaway exploded on the final climb, the Cat.3 Colla dei Scioli, where a select group of six riders formed following a string of attacks from Mas.
A crash on the descent saw Van Eetvelt, Scaroni and Zana fall back before Mas rode clear with Narvaez on the climb to the Red Bull KM sprint, with Vlasov, Harper, Ulissi and Crescioli in pursuit.
Breakaway dwindles as Zana, Scaroni and Van Eetvelt crash on descent – ‘Not good at all’
Video credit: TNT Sports
Try as he might, Mas was unable to shake off his Ecuadorian shadow – and, despite leading out the sprint close to the barriers in Chiavari, Mas was unable to stop Narvaez from squeezing through the gap and taking another win in what is becoming a vintage Giro d’Italia for both him and his depleted UAE team.
And things could get even better for the man of the moment, since Thursday’s Stage 12 – with two lower category climbs in the final third – plays out over terrain that suits Narvaez to a tee.