Ecuadorian champion sprints his way to second overall with bonus seconds, as solo victor denies UAE Team Emirates-XRG the chance of victory

Ecuadorian champion Jhonatan Narváez finished in second place on stage 3 of the Santos Tour Down Under for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, taking six bonus seconds in the process and moving up to second in the general classification. Narváez’s sprint came from a reduced group who crossed the line some five seconds behind the day’s winner, Javier Romo.

Romo’s solo escape occurred shortly after the summit of the final climb, with Knotts Hill proving relatively indecisive in the general classification battle. Behind Romo’s successful late attack, a select group of the race’s best climbers were unable to shake each other free, leaving the rest of the top 10 to be decided in Uraidla from a sprint.

Knowing that bonus seconds have often decided this race in the past, Narváez made a bid for the left-hand side of the road and unleashed his strong acceleration to seal second place on the day.

With six further bonus seconds in his pocket, the 27-year-old moves up nine places in the general classification to second place, eight seconds down on the new leader, Romo. Jay Vine, meanwhile, is up to eighth overall, seven seconds behind his teammate.

“I think it was a positive day for the team,” Narváez told us during his post-race massage. “We worked hard and tried to make the race hard. It is not always best to reflect the race just by the result. We did our goal of racing hard and trying to win the stage. Of course, we did not win, but we still have many opportunities to go.

“Every one of my teammates worked well as we planned yesterday,” he continued.

“The climb was hard, that is for sure. Between me and Jay, we have two strong guys to play in the race, but I must give credit to Romo because he made a smart attack. In the moment that he went, nobody chased.

“At the end of the race, you can win the race by one second and I think we are in a good position. Let’s see how the leader [Romo] is going to manage the race in the next few days, and we will try to make a strategy to try and win the race through either myself or Jay.”

A team effort to make the racing hard

Before the final ascent of Knotts Hill, UAE Team Emirates-XRG had already animated the day’s racing on a number of fronts.

Behind the day’s breakaway, it was Julius Johansen and Rui Oliveira who worked hard to keep the time gap down and their teammates safe, with Rune Herregodts setting a hard pace on the climbs.

With the breakaway brought to heel, Soler used a lull in proceedings to make a daring attack off the front of the bunch. This move was aided by the work of teammate Pablo Torres behind, who tracked counterattacks with a sense of race craft way beyond his years.

Soler’s attack ultimately proved unfruitful, but UAE Team Emirates-XRG were not content to let the other teams dictate the pace on the final ascent of Knotts Hill.

Having largely bided his time through the opening two stages, Vine made sure to give his legs a good run-out on Thursday afternoon, making his own attack through the climb’s steepest pitches. Although he was unable to establish a sufficient gap, the positioning of Narváez left the team in a strong position coming over the final climb of the day.

With the Ecuadorian packing a more than capable sprint, he would always be favoured should a small group come to the line in Uraidla.

However, such plans took a dent when Vine found himself with a rear puncture as the peloton descended to the finish. With his momentum stalled, he could but watch as a variety of opportunists attempted to go solo.

Ultimately, it was Romo who would make his move count, with Narváez forced to settle for second from the chasing group. It was not the result that UAE Team Emirates-XRG had been chasing on stage 3, but it was enough to move both Narváez and Vine into the top 10 overall, both of whom sit within 15 seconds of the race lead heading into the fourth stage.

Tomorrow, the peloton will tackle 157.2km from Glenelg to Victor Harbor, as the race makes its way down the coast along Waitpinga Rd. With UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s seven-strong lineup reporting fit and healthy from the opening three stages, there is still all to play for in this year’s Tour Down Under.

Stage 3 results

1. Javier Romo (Movistar) 3:46:01

2. Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +5′

3. Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) ”

General Classification after stage 3

1. Javier Romo (Movistar) 10:13:51

2. Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +8′

3. Patrick Konrad (Lidl-Trek) +10′

8. Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +15′