Jhonatan Narváez won stage four of the Giro d'Italia in Cosenza on Tuesday, beating Orluis Aular to the line by a clear bike length after a fast finish that also delivered the pink jersey to Giulio Ciccone. Narváez, who finished the day with his hands in the air after a 3:08:46 ride, timed his sprint perfectly after Aular went off early with 350m to go.
Ciccone crossed in third place, enough to move into the race lead on bonus seconds and pull on the maglia rosa after a stage that still had around 40 riders in the peloton at the finish. Ben Turner was fourth, Alessandro Pinarello fifth, Afonso Eulálio sixth, Lennert Van Eetvelt seventh, Diego Ulissi eighth, Andrea Raccagni Noviero ninth and Michael Valgren tenth.
Movistar had set the pace on the category-two Cozzo Tunno climb, which peaked around 45km from the finish, to split the field and leave the pure sprinters behind. Guillermo Thomas Silva and Paul Magnier were dropped on the ascent, while Egan Bernal also slipped off the back before fighting his way back into the group by the end. The climb did its job, but it did not stop Narváez from finding the right moment once the road opened for the run into Cosenza.
For Narváez, the victory carried extra weight. He said it was “really big” for him after three months training in Ecuador, and he thanked his family, his wife and his team for their support. He also pointed to his teammates at UAE Team Emirates-XRG, saying they had been working hard after crashing on stage two and deserved the reward as much as he did. The team had already lost three riders in that mass crash, including Adam Yates, and had been trying to regroup ever since.
Narváez also praised Jan Christen, saying the young rider had been trying to take the maglia rosa and needed to learn how to race. He said he knew Movistar had worked hard on the climb and that Ciccone was there too. Looking back on the finish, Narváez said he took a very good corner with 700m to go and still had the legs for the final straight.
The stage was Narváez’s third victory at the Giro and a reminder of how far he has come after a serious injury at the Tour Down Under, where he broke vertebrae. That made the result more than a sprint win in Cosenza. It was a return to the front of a Grand Tour, and a sharp answer to a race week that had already taken its toll on one of the strongest teams in the field.
Ciccone’s move into the lead was more delicate. He did not win the stage, but the bonus seconds were enough to put him in pink after a day shaped by a climb, a sprint and the small margins that decide a Grand Tour. With the field thinned and the race still balanced, Tuesday belonged to Narváez on the road and to Ciccone on the standings.
