Jhonatan Narvaez wins his second Giro d’Italia stage and Afonso Eulalio keeps the overall lead

(Reuters)

Ecuador's Jhonatan Narvaez claimed his second stage victory of the Giro d'Italia on Saturday, delivering a masterful solo performance to win stage eight after a gruelling finale. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider outlasted Andreas Leknessund in a tense pursuit up the final climbs, crossing the line 32 ⁠seconds ahead of ​the ⁠Norwegian. Portugal's Afonso Eulalio held on to the leader's pink jersey ahead of ⁠Jonas Vingegaard.

Leknessund mounted a determined chase in an effort to stay in contact with Narvaez up the punishing final ascent, but he was unable to bridge the gap and crossed the line in second place. Following Friday's brutal mountain finish on the Blockhaus, in which Denmark's Vingegaard secured an emphatic victory, the riders moved to the Adriatic coast before tackling a punishing uphill finish in the Marche region town of Fermo.

(AP)

Norway’s Martin Tjotta of Uno-X Mobility saw off the remaining chasers to secure ‌third place, 10 seconds behind compatriot ​Leknessund. Narvaez powered to victory in ‌stage four on Tuesday. ⁠The 29-year-old also won Giro stages ⁠in 2020 and 2024, and had not raced this ‌season before ​the Grand Tour following ‌a crash in January ​in Australia.

“We knew this was a stage that suited me. We raced it really well with my teammates," Narváez said. "In the finale, once I was alone, it all came down to the legs. The headwind made everything extremely tough. We never gave up and raced intelligently.

"It’s a great victory, especially after my crash in January and after the fact that here at the Giro we’re down to just five riders. There’s a great atmosphere within the team, and I think we’ll win more stages next week.”

Vingegaard, meanwhile, crossed the line two seconds ahead of most of the rest of the general classification contenders. He trimmed the gap to Eulálio slightly to 3 minutes, 15 seconds.