Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Ecuador’s Jhonatan Narvaez has claimed his second stage victory of the Giro d’Italia, delivering a masterful solo performance to win stage eight after a gruelling finale in Fermo.
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.
Leknessund mounted a determined chase in an effort to stay in contact with Narvaez up the punishing final ascent but was unable to bridge the gap and crossed the line in second place.
After the race, Narvaez, who’d also powered to victory in stage four on Tuesday, paid tribute to teammate Mikkel Bjerg, thanking the Dane for driving the breakaway to set up a decisive attack on the penultimate climb where the Ecuadorean distanced Leknessund, with Bjerg crossing the line 16th.
“It was a nice stage for me. I think we played well, with my teammate. He was the man of the day, Mikkel Bjerg and always working for the team,” Narvaez said.
Following Friday’s brutal mountain finish on the Blockhaus, in which Denmark’s Jonas 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.
Norway’s Martin Tjotta of Uno-X Mobility saw off the remaining chasers to secure third place, 10 seconds behind compatriot Leknessund.
Portuguese Afonso Eulalio retained the overall lead ahead of Vingegaard, finishing two seconds behind his rival.
Eulalio crossed the line in 26th place, two places behind Vingegaard, to maintain a three minutes 15-second advantage over the Dane in the general classification.
Australia’s former winner Jai Hindley slipped back one place to fifth in the overall standings, 4:23 behind Eulalio, with compatriots Ben O’Connor seventh at 4:32 and Michael Storer 10th at 5:11.
There was early drama as Fabio Christen of the Pinarello team crashed heavily after looking over his shoulder. His front wheel clashed with an opponent’s bike, sending the Swiss rider hard to the ground in obvious pain.
Christen was ultimately forced to abandon in an edition that has already featured nearly 20 riders pulling out due to crashes and illness in the first week, including Australian stage-winning fancies Jay Vine and Kaden Groves.
