Ecuadorian Jhonatan Narvaez has shown a clear evolution in recent years at INEOS Grenadiers and has become a quality puncheur, beating Tadej Pogacar outright in the opening stage of this year’s Giro d’Italia.
However, now with UAE Team Emirates XRG he hopes to gain freedom in the cobbled classics and battle with the likes of Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert.
“I would like to win more and I dream of winning a cobbled classic with UAE Team Emirates XRG. Something that wasn’t possible at INEOS,” the Ecuadorian champion told Sporza. Although he has a much stronger block in the Emirati team, it seems he didn’t get the space he wanted in the Belgian races.
This year Narvaez was 6th in the E3 Saxo Classic and raced the Gent-Wevelgem, before taking a break and preparing for the Giro d’Italia, where he wore the maglia rosa after his opening day win. In previous years he has raced Flanders on a few occasions, but has not finished inside the Top20.
On asphalt, the 27-year-old has proven to be one of the best in the world. But he doesn’t want to settle for that: “I actually prepare every year with the goal of following Van der Poel and Van Aert in the cobbled classics. If you can’t beat Van der Poel and Van Aert alone, you can succeed as a team. With UAE Team Emirates XRG, we have a strong core for the Flemish races. We have several cards to play.”
This year, Tadej Pogacar will race the cobbled classics, including Flanders, so it will be very difficult for him to have a leading role in the team, but this could happen in the future, while he could be free in other WorldTour classics. “I won’t say it’s impossible to win the Tour of Flanders one day, but it will be very difficult. I would be very satisfied with a podium,” he concluded.
Source: www.ciclismoaldia.es