UAE hope Christen can learn from Narváez: ‘He misses a little bit of the killer instinct’

Narváez claimed his third stage win of this Giro on stage 11, taking UAE’s total to four victories despite a heavily disrupted opening half of the race. The team lost three leaders in three days, but has since reshaped its approach around a reduced squad and the remarkable form of Narváez.

Christen has repeatedly tried to make his mark in the race, but Baldato feels the young Swiss rider still needs to develop the instinct that has allowed Narváez to turn opportunities into victories.

“He misses a little bit of the killer instinct that Jhonny has,” Baldato said to In de Leiderstrui. “We would like to see Jan at the front as well. He is young, and hopefully by racing with Jhonatan he can learn how to do it.”

Narváez had even offered Christen some light hearted advice before the stage.

“As a joke, Jhonny said to Jan in the bus this morning that he had to follow him if he wanted to be in the breakaway,” Baldato said. “It was a joke, but in the end it turned out to be true.”

Narváez has become much more than a stage winner for UAE in this Giro. Baldato described him as a rider who brings humour to the group, while also demanding discipline and focus from those around him.

“He makes a lot of jokes, but he also wants everyone to be organised and focused,” Baldato said. “He teaches the young guys how they should behave. If the bus is a mess, he will say something about it. For us, he is a great guy, with his spirit and experience.”

According to Baldato, Narváez does not lead by imposing himself on the group.

“He never plays the boss,” he said. “But he really creates team spirit. Winning so much only helps with that.”

That leadership has become especially valuable for UAE after a chaotic start to the Giro. With three riders out of the race after a crash in Bulgaria, the team was forced to abandon its original plans. Team principal Mauro Gianetti praised the way the remaining riders responded.

“What the guys are doing is fantastic,” he said to In de Leiderstrui. “After the crash of our three riders in Bulgaria, they did not give up. They no longer had to work for a leader, and now they are getting chances to make the difference.”

Narváez’s run of results is even more striking given the start he had to the season. The 29-year-old crashed heavily at the Tour Down Under in January, breaking several vertebrae. Before that crash, he had already shown his level in Australia, attacking with teammate Jay Vine on Corkscrew Road during stage 2.

Gianetti said the way Narváez recovered from that setback says a great deal about his character.

“This man is really an example of resilience, professionalism and a good mentality, but also of love for cycling,” he said.

“After his crash in Australia, he kept working with the idea that he would return in time for the Giro, to be here and to show everyone his value.”

Narváez spent three months without racing and was off the bike for six weeks. UAE considered giving him a race before the Giro, but eventually decided to build his preparation entirely around the Italian Grand Tour.

“He had not raced for three months,” Baldato said. “His injury was serious and the recovery took a long time. We thought for a moment about bringing him to Europe earlier, to do another race before the Giro. But after talking with the staff, we decided to let him focus completely on the Giro.”

Most of that work was done at altitude in Ecuador. When Narváez joined the Giro group shortly before the race, UAE already believed he was at a high level.

“He does not surprise us,” Baldato said. “We knew from the information from the trainers that Jhonny was really very good. When he came to us ahead of the Giro d’Italia, he was already better than last year.”

Three stage wins later for Narváez, UAE can now look beyond daily success. Narváez has also moved close to the lead in the points classification.

“We were only thinking about the stage,” Baldato said. “Now we can also think about purple.”