Ecuador’s Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates XRG) powered to the line, claiming victory on stage four of the Giro d’Italia, outpacing Orluis Aular, with home rider Giulio Ciccone taking over the leader’s pink jersey after crossing the line in third.
The first shakeup in this year’s race coincided with its arrival home in Italy following the opening three stages in Bulgaria, and after Aular hit the front ahead of Ciccone, Narváez came from behind and left the Venezuelan behind.
The 138km ride from Catanzaro to Cosenza only kicked into gear when the stage reached the foot of the long climb to Cozzo Tunno, 80km into the day, and the peloton was broken up, leaving a reduced bunch of 40 riders to fight for the stage.
The four bonus seconds Ciccone picked up for finishing third was enough to lift him into the overall lead, four seconds ahead of Jan Christen, Florian Stork and Egan Bernal.
Wednesday’s fifth stage could shake up the general classification standings. It features nearly 4,000 meters of climbing and hardly any flat sections on the 203km route from Praia a Mare to Potenza. The 109th men’s Giro ends on 31 May in Rome.