UAE bounce back after stage 2 nightmare: 'He was trying to take the pink jersey'

The trauma of stage two was still fresh for UAE Team Emirates-XRG — the stage in which Adam Yates, Jay Vine and Marc Soler were all forced out of the race in a devastating crash. It was a crushing blow, but the team had no choice but to flip the switch. And flip it they did: Jhonatan Narváez's stage four victory gave them the perfect plaster for such a deep wound.

Stage two could hardly have gone worse. On the wet and hilly stage, half the team went down in a violent crash. Vine broke his elbow, Soler his pelvis, and Yates sustained a concussion — all three were forced to leave the race. Narváez had also been caught in the crash, but in stage four the Ecuadorian was clearly back to full fitness. His powerful closing sprint told the story.

He dedicated the win, naturally, to his injured teammates. "It's really big for me, this victory here, coming from three months training in Ecuador," he said at the finish. "I want to say thanks to my family, my wife, my team. They've been a great support in this time, and obviously this victory is also for my teammates who crashed on stage 2. They've been working for a while to come here in good condition — we take the victory today, but we were good before stage 2 too, so I think we are a lot happier now."

Teammate Jan Christen also played a significant role on a punishing day. The Swiss rider, wearing the white jersey, had earlier won a bonus sprint and collected time credits, before launching a late attack in the final kilometres. The move didn't quite stick, but it set up his teammate perfectly: Narváez overpowered Orluis Aular and Giulio Ciccone with ease.

Christen's attack ultimately proved perfectly timed for the eventual winner. "Jan is a great guy, he was trying to take the pink jersey," Narváez explained. "He is still young and he still has things to learn about racing, but he rode a great finale. I just had to wait for the sprint."

Movistar had emptied themselves completely in service of Aular, and in doing so effectively handed Narváez the advantage in the final. The competition was limited. "I knew Movistar had ridden the climb very hard for Aular, and then Ciccone was also there — but I took a good line through the corner at 700 metres from the finish. After that, it was just a question of seeing what everyone had left."