On the very begin of the racing in Australia, Ineos Grenadiers’ Jhonatan Narváez marked himself out as one of many key riders to look at. There was no doubting that the Ecuadorian had arrived on the season starter with some fierce kind when he sprinted to victory from the break on the pre-tour criterium, the Down Below Basic.
“I ready rather well for the race” stated Narváez after the closing stage of the Tour Down Below, pausing to brush a shiny inexperienced grasshopper off his leg – one of many extra innocuous critters to be discovered within the lengthy grass on the prime of Mount Lofty. He cited the climate as a bonus – much like dwelling – however “in the long run there was a rider stronger than me”.
That meant that function of the 26-year-old turned out to be that of the gracious runner-up, as despite the fact that Ineos Grenadiers had fielded a robust roster, with Elia Viviani for the sprints, they have been strolling away with the frustration that may include the decrease steps of the rostrum.
“It hurts to be so shut now to the victory, not solely stage but additionally GC, however that’s additionally why this sport is so stunning – it’s so troublesome to win,” sports activities director Oli Cookson informed Cyclingnews, earlier than happening to congratulate the race winner. “Chapeau to Stevie Williams and in addition to Israel Premier Tech.
“For us, we knew that Johnny was in nice form, he has been working onerous all winter. He’s having a child in February so he’s going to return and be together with his household for a short while and we knew that this was a transparent goal for him, and for Elia for the sprints.”
The dash phases got here earlier within the race, with Viviani coming second on stage 2, after Narváez’ jumped on a transfer by Luke Plapp (Jayco-AlUla) however was thwarted by his one time teammate who was not going to work with the Ineos Grenadiers rider given the apparent menace he posed to the Australian group’s prospects.
Come the weekend, nevertheless, and it was all right down to the climbers and GC riders, first with the pivotal Willunga Hill the place Oscar Onley (dsm-firmenich PostNL) and Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) claimed first and second forward of Narváez. The duo have been on the identical time total after that, however with Williams in ochre because of a countback, whereas Narváez was simply 5 seconds again.
That meant even when there have been no time gaps on the final stage which completed on Mount Lofty, the highest total spot was nonetheless inside attain if he might simply get that closing stage win and the ten second bonus that got here with it.
“We didn’t need to simply let the break go,” stated Cookson, which was evident by how a lot work Ineos Grenadiers did on the entrance to drag again within the group of seven that had taken off early within the 128km stage. “We knew we wished to get time bonuses however we knew it might be troublesome with Stevie – he’s so quick after a tough race and quick typically. However we put all of it on the road and all the blokes performed their half.”
The break was caught, in no small half because of the work of Ineos Grenadiers, after which stage 2 winner Oscar del Toro (UAE Workforce Emirates) sparked a transfer, which left Narváez, Williams, Del Toro and Bart Lemmen (Visma – Lease a Bike) charging towards the road to carve up the rostrum spots. There was no stopping Williams’ run, nevertheless, whereas Narváez needed to accept second within the stage and within the total standings. He completed 9 seconds behind Williams as soon as the ending time bonuses had been dealt out and two forward of Del Toro, whereas Onley, who was within the second group on the highway, ended up fourth.
“I’m positive Johnny is annoyed,” stated Cookson. “He has put in a number of onerous yards over the winter and got here right here eager to win GC however with second on GC and a victory within the criterium and th group performing the best way it’s I believe we now look ahead to the opposite targets of this journey, particularly the Cadel Evans race.”