A year ago at the Tour Down Under Jhonatan Narváez was left suffering the sting of second at the race, having come agonisingly close to securing his first WorldTour overall victory.
There was just nine seconds in it a year ago and there is just nine seconds in it now, but this time the gap is in Narváez's favour. Sunday's final stage is a circuit race around central Adelaide and should crown Narváez as the winner of the 2025 Santos Tour Down Under.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG had entered this year's race with a two-pronged plan: 2023 winner Jay Vine and 2024 runner-up Narváez, who joined team this season. As they entered the pivotal stage 5 the Ecuadorian champion was in the box seat.
“I was feeling well every day,” said Narváez. “Obviously Jay had a crash and he wasn't really good today, but that was our tactic – win the race with me or with him.”
In a race where bonus seconds are often crucial, Narváez had an advantage. As well as being able to climb as well as his rivals, he is a fast finisher, probably the fastest of his GC rivals. That is a key factor that clinched him the lead, perhaps in more ways than one.
The fear of that Narváez fast finish, and so ability to take the stage winner's ten-second time bonus, was perhaps playing in the mind of an ochre-clad Javier Romo (Movistar) before the stage to Willunga Hill.
At the start of the day, Romo had a four second advantage over Narváez. When he attacked alone at the foot of Willunga Hill, he was trying to take advantage of a split that had formed in the crosswinds thanks to the work of Ineos Grenadiers. Romo was in the move but Narváez was caught behind with Luke Plapp and others.
“I know that my sprint is not so good, but I tried to attack when the second group was behind, because I thought it's possible that Narvaez is not in a good position. I tried but it's possible that it was too early," admitted Romo.
Narváez was part of a select group that charged back up to the 26-year-old Spaniard, making the catch at under one kilometre to go on Willunga Hill.
Once they were stongest riders were back together, the advantage shifted firmly in Narváez's favour.
“I think we managed it really well today because Ineos made the crosswinds but in the end, we came back and I survived the climb to do the sprint,” he said.
It was a sprint that he never looked like losing, accelerating early. at around 200 metres from the line, with a power that couldn’t be matched.
In fact he even caused a split to Romo, pulling back three seconds on the GC through the gap and another 10 seconds with the time bonus that came with the stage victory. That give him a nine-second advantage with just one stage remaining, and a sprinters stage at that.
There may have been some frustrations for Narváez along the way, with a third and second in the previous stages, but he has now won on Willunga Hill and taken the overall lead.
As first races go with a new team, you couldn’t ask for much more.
“With Jhony, we know he just needs to be confident in himself,” said UAE Team Emirates-XRG sports director Fabio Baldato.
“He is a super talent who is super strong, but sometimes he just needs a push to believe in himself more and today he did a super job. I hope this gives him a boost to be absolutely sure of his potential. He is such a powerful and professional guy, he really deserves this.”
Given that there is just 90km of racing left, in a relatively flat stage on Sunday. the sting of second in Australia should become a distant memory for Narváez. It will be replaced by a first WorldTour stage race victory, in his very first race with his new team.
“In this race, I think this gap is a lot” said Narváez confidently.
“It is a short stage and it will be fast and hot, but we have a good strong team to manage it.”
