In-form Narvaez makes it three Giro stage wins / Photo: Luca Bettini - AFP
In-form Narvaez makes it three Giro stage wins
Jhonatan Narvaez won the 11th stage of the Giro d'Italia on Wednesday, his third win of this year's renewal as Afonso Eulalio retained the overall lead.
Ecuadorian Narvaez, who rides for injury-hit UAE Team Emirates, accelerated to the line in Chiavari after 196 kilometres of riding.
That burst by the 29-year-old followed an attack by Enric Mas on the final climb which separated the pair from the rest of a small breakaway group.
Mas admitted afterwards that it was "impossible" to beat Narvaez in the final sprint after failing to shake him off over the final few kilometres.
"Enric was stronger than me on the climbs, I knew I had to play my own game... Michael Phelps doesn't run, he's a swimmer, right?" said Narvaez.
Narvaez's impressive showing at this year's Giro comes after he missed the entire Spring after suffering vertebrae fractures in a crash during the Tour Down Under in January.
UAE have won four stages in this years' Giro despite three key riders Adam Yates, Jay Vine and Marc Soler abandoning the race.
It was a stage for the breakaway group as the general classification contenders kept their powder dry in the peloton on a tough stage featuring three categorised climbs.
Pre-race favourite Jonas Vingegaard still trails Eulalio by 27 seconds in the overall standings, a gap which is unlikely to be cut during Thursday's 12th stage between Imperia and Novi Liguri.
The sprinters should have a chance to shine on that 175km stage which is largely flat but also has two categorised climbs.
T.Buraiki--al-Hayat
