Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) soloed to victory on stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia on Saturday, attacking from a three-rider breakaway on the Muro di Capodarco with 10km remaining and holding off Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility) on the steep final climb to Fermo. Leknessund crossed the line 32 seconds down and said he was disappointed to miss the win but pleased with his level.
The route was classically Italian and something we often see at Tirreno-Adriatico with the muri style stages. It was a 156km route from Chieti to Fermo with the final part of the day packed with four categorised climbs. It took the first half of the day for the breakaway to finally form thanks to a headwind. Despite this, the average speed for the first hour was up at 50kph. The intensity will have really burnt the riders' legs, especially after the summit finish on Blockhaus the day before.
"It was really hard today. It was such a hard headwind at the start. I was active at the start to get into the breakaway but at one point I said to the guys 'I think I give up, there's no-one who's getting away with this headwind.' But somehow I got away with (Mikkel) Bjerg and some others." Leknessund said to Cycling Pro Net at the finish. "We worked so hard and worked well together but yeah, Narváez was the strongest. Kind of as expected." added the Norwegian champion.
Stage 8 Results
Chieti - Fermo • May 16 • 156km
| Pos | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Jhonatan Narvaez Prado | UAE Team Emirates XrgUAE Team Emirates Xrg | 3:27:26 |
| 🥈 | Andreas Leknessund | Uno-X MobilityUno-X Mobility | +0:32 |
| 🥉 | Martin Tjøtta | Uno-X MobilityUno-X Mobility | +0:42 |
| 4 | Guillermo Thomas Silva Coussan | XDS Astana TeamXDS Astana Team | +0:44 |
| 5 | Lorenzo Milesi | Movistar TeamMovistar Team | +0:44 |
| 6 | Christian Scaroni | XDS Astana TeamXDS Astana Team | +0:48 |
| 7 | Corbin John Strong | NSN Cycling TeamNSN Cycling Team | +0:55 |
| 8 | Juan Pedro Lopez Perez | Movistar TeamMovistar Team | +0:55 |
| 9 | Wouter Poels | Unibet Rose RocketsUnibet Rose Rockets | +0:58 |
| 10 | Markel Beloki Fernandez | EF Education - EasypostEF Education - Easypost | +1:00 |
| 11 | Brieuc Rolland | Groupama-Fdj UnitedGroupama-Fdj United | +1:02 |
| 12 | Jan Christen | UAE Team Emirates XrgUAE Team Emirates Xrg | +1:02 |
| 13 | Simone Gualdi | Lotto IntermarchéLotto Intermarché | +1:02 |
| 14 | Gianmarco Garofoli | Soudal Quick-StepSoudal Quick-Step | +1:08 |
| 15 | Filippo Zana | Soudal Quick-StepSoudal Quick-Step | +1:12 |
| 16 | Mikkel Norsgaard Bjerg | UAE Team Emirates XrgUAE Team Emirates Xrg | +1:12 |
| 17 | Thomas Pesenti | Team Polti VisitmaltaTeam Polti Visitmalta | +1:27 |
| 18 | Mattia Bais | Team Polti VisitmaltaTeam Polti Visitmalta | +1:29 |
| 19 | Andréa Mifsud | Team Polti VisitmaltaTeam Polti Visitmalta | +1:35 |
| 20 | Igor Arrieta Lizarraga | UAE Team Emirates XrgUAE Team Emirates Xrg | +1:36 |
Leknessund had matched the moves to get into the decisive breakaway alongside Narváez and his UAE teammate Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), and was outnumbered in the finale. Narváez used that advantage on the Muro di Capodarco, attacking with 10km to go.
When asked if he was disappointed, Leknessund said; "No, I can't be disappointed. Second place is... (He grimaced and shook his head)… I can't say I was close to the win, but yeah, that was all I could do."
Leknessund's teammate Martin Tjøtta finished third just 10 seconds down. Leknessund added that he thought the gap was bigger to the chase group but he saw Tjøtta behind finishing fast.
How the winning move finally formed
It was always known that stage 8 would be a tough one on the legs with an explosive finale suiting the puncheurs in the race with a breakaway victory most likely.
Having Blockhaus the day before as well meant that the GC riders would likely try to save themselves. This was largely true aside from a couple of late attacks, one by the pink jersey of Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious) and the other coming at the finish by Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). All followed by the race favourite, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike).
The main issue was that the GC riders didn't get their relaxed day as there were so many riders wanting to be in the break and a headwind most of the way, it wasn't until the second half of the day that a group eventually formed with Narváez, Bjerg and Leknessund being some of the riders getting clear.
Bjerg said his role in the break was to protect Narváez and help ensure the Ecuadorian rider arrived at the final climbs with as little work done as possible.
"My job was to be there for Jhonny," Bjerg said. "We knew the finale was hard, and if we could get into the break together, we could control it. I tried to keep the pace high and make it difficult for Leknessund to attack before the final."
The plan worked. On the Muro di Capodarco, which rises at around 5.9% for 3.6km with a steep section near its summit, Bjerg was dropped. That left Narváez and Leknessund alone at the front. Narváez attacked and opened the gap that Leknessund could not close.
The final climb to Fermo, 3.7km at an average of 5.7% with steep gradients through the old town, was where Narváez sealed it. Before that point, Leknessund used the lesser gradients and descent to close right down on Narváez but the final ascent proved too much and the UAE Team Emirates-XRG star pushed further clear into the finish at Fermo.
Narváez crossed the line in 3:27:26 for his second stage victory of the 2026 Giro, adding to his win on stage 4 in Cosenza. The Ecuadorian now has four career Giro stage wins. Leknessund finished 32 seconds with with Tjøtta finishing third at 42 seconds, with Guillermo Thomas Silva (XDS-Astana) and Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar) rounding out the top five at 44 seconds.
Bjerg said UAE's plan had come off in a Grand Tour breakaway. "It's not easy to get into the right move at the Giro," he said. "When it works out like this, with a stage win for Jhonatan, it makes the hard days worth it."
The GC remained unchanged, with Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious) still in the maglia rosa after a day decided by the breakaway. Leknessund left with second place and evidence of good form.
Cover image credit: Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse
