Narvaez: “My legs still hurt, following Pogačar”

Of the 11 victories that now appear on his record, almost 20% (two) came in Italy is spinning. But the last one, received this Saturday at exciting start of the Corsa Rosa, This is undoubtedly the most special of all Jonathan Narvaez (27 years old, Playon de San Francisco). And the Ecuadorian not only enjoyed the privilege defeat Tadej Pogačar, but also for the first time in my sports career to wear a pink jersey.

“It’s a great feeling. We planned this with the team, but I had to go to Pogačar and my legs still hurt. It was very difficult, but in the end I managed,” Narvaez explained at the end of the stage, after repelling Pogačar’s attack on the wall Saint Vitus and then finished the sprint in a threesome with the Slovenian and Schachmann: “In the sprint, I think he went too far. Incredible. In the grand tour we don’t have many opportunities to win a stage. And especially it puts me in a pink tank top. It was very difficult to get it.”

Judging by his statements, Narvaez is having difficulty maintaining his privileged position in demanding finale in Oropa What awaits us in the second stage, as the Ineos rider is much more competitive on short and explosive climbs like today: “It’s good to beat a strong guy like Tadej Pogacar. I’ll really like this. We know he’s the strongest guy in the world. I was driving it, it was difficult to stay there, so I had to play my cards. After my fall in Ghent-Wevelgem, the team took care of me and sent me home to a high-altitude training camp in Ecuador. I’m in the best shape of my entire career in my best years, but I can’t fight Pogacar on the most important climbs, so tomorrow it will be difficult for me to keep the maglia rose.” Whatever happens, he has already left his mark on the history of the race for his country, since An Ecuadorian has not led the Giro since Carapaz in 2022. He hasn’t even won a stage since Richard himself in 2019. Goodbye drought.

Pogacar: “I started the sprint very early”

On the other side of the coin was Pogačar, who fired up the entire UAE machine with his mind set on the lead, although he was unable to finish. “First day at the Giro. It was a short and fast stage. We tried to control the stage but unfortunately it wasn’t our day but we still did well. We have seen that some The runners were injured today, the rest are feeling fine. Therefore, I think that in our team we are also going step by step, day by day,” Pogacar analyzed after completing the first stage of his career on the Italian tour.

However, he points to the end of this Sunday in Oropa with optimism: “Tomorrow the scene suits us better, I would say and tomorrow we’ll see what the legs are like today. But I think it will be a very good Giro. Here in Turin it was a very pleasant start, there were a lot of people. On the last climb, unfortunately, I had to go full power from the bottom up, but Narvaez was very strong today and followed the wheel very well, and also the group in front had too much of a gap. I tried, I gave it my all, but yeah, When we reached the top, I realized that Narvaez was difficult to beat. in the sprint, and then I was a little nervous too. It’s been a long time since I ran around with three boys and I started the sprint too early, but I still had good legs. Narvaez obviously runs faster than me, so I didn’t have much of a chance.” Oropa is another story…

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