Narváez planned to gift the stage win to 'man of the day': "We had a deal"

Jhonatan Narváez claimed stage eight of the Giro d'Italia on Saturday. The Ecuadorian from UAE Team Emirates-XRG proved the strongest from the breakaway — and earlier in this race he had already won stage four. With a hilly finale, stage eight was tailor-made for the attackers — which made for a long, fierce battle to get into the front group. Narváez ultimately got clear alongside teammate Mikkel Bjerg and Andreas Leknessund, and despite a large chasing group forming behind them, the trio managed to hold them off.

In the demanding closing kilometres, Narváez first shed Leknessund and then Bjerg, going on to take the win solo. "It was a great stage for me," Narváez said in his flash interview. "I worked well with my teammate" — referring to Bjerg.

"He was the man of the day," a generous Narváez said in full. "He always works incredibly hard for the team — last year too. You don't see him in the camera very often, but he moves mountains for the team." He then revealed something striking: "We had a deal" — meaning Bjerg had been due to take the stage win if circumstances allowed. A strong Leknessund made sure that plan couldn't be executed.

"In the end it came purely down to legs," Narváez explained of the finale. "The first part of the stage was really hard, with a headwind. That stretch was very tough for me. But we worked well together and rode smart — and that gave us the chance to race for the win."

With this victory, Narváez draws level with fellow Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz on four Giro stage wins. "Of course that's important," Narváez said, before underlining his team's remarkable resilience — winning three stages at this Giro after losing three riders in the opening weekend. "We're racing smart and the atmosphere in the group is great, so I expect more wins next week."