In a thrilling finish, Ecuadorian Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) emerged victorious in the fourth stage of the 2016 Giro d’Italia, a 138-kilometer route between Catanzaro and Cosenza. Another South American rider, Venezuelan Orluis Aular (Movistar Team), secured second place.
The general classification saw changes at the top, with Uruguayan Thomas Silva (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) losing the lead he had held for two stages to Italian Giulio Ciccone (Lidl – Trek). Ciccone finished third in this fourth stage.
The Movistar Team was the tactical mastermind of the day. The Spanish team upped the pace from the start of the climb to Cozzo Tunno, a nearly 15-kilometer ascent at 5.9%, with the clear intention of eliminating the pure sprinters and leaving Orluis Aular for a reduced group finish.
The plan worked perfectly for much of the climb. Dylan Groenewegen was one of the first to be dropped, Jonathan Milan also couldn’t maintain the pace, and shortly afterward, Paul Magnier and Tobias Lund Andresen also fell back. Even the Maglia Rosa wearer, Guillermo Thomas Silva, lost contact more than ten kilometers from the summit.
Movistar’s work also caused a huge selection among the GC contenders. Egan Bernal struggled at various points, while riders like Filippo Ganna and Edoardo Zambanini also dropped back.
After the selection made by Movistar, the leading group was very small in the final kilometers. Everything seemed to be heading towards a sprint finish between explosive riders like Orluis Aular, Jan Christen, and Lennert Van Eetvelt, but Christen decided not to wait.
The Swiss rider from UAE Team Emirates-XRG attacked with 1.5 kilometers to go and quickly opened a small gap while the peloton hesitated behind. Movistar tried to reorganize the chase with Enric Mas working for Aular, while Matteo Sobrero then took over.
Finally, the move was neutralized practically at the finish line, and that’s where Jhonatan Narváez appeared on the opposite side of the road to launch the decisive sprint and take the victory.
The best Colombian of the day was Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) from Zipaquirá, finishing 27th, while Einer Rubio (Movistar Team) came in 39th, both with the same time as Narváez.
The Italian tour will continue this Wednesday with the fifth stage, which will take the cyclists from Praia a Mare to Potenza over 203 kilometers with two categorized mountain passes along the way.
RAnking General Individual
| 1 | Giulio Ciccone | Lidl-Trek | 16:18:51 |
| 2 | Jan Christen | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 0:04 |
| 3 | Florian Stork | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 0:04 |
| 4 | Egan Bernal | Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team | 0:04 |
| 5 | Thymen Arensman | Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team | 0:06 |
| 6 | Giulio Pellizzari | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 0:06 |
| 7 | Lennert Van Eetvelt | Lotto-Intermarché | 0:10 |
| 8 | Enric Mas | Movistar Team | 0:10 |
| 9 | Markel Beloki | EF Education-EasyPost | 0:10 |
| 10 | Jan Hirt | NSN Cycling Team | 0:10 |
Giro d’Italia (2.UWT)
Results Stage 4 | Catanzaro – Cosenza (138 km)
| 1 | Jhonatan Narvaez | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 3:08:46 |
| 2 | Orluis Aular | Movistar Team | m.t. |
| 3 | Giulio Ciccone | Lidl-Trek | m.t. |
| 4 | Ben Turner | Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team | m.t. |
| 5 | Alessandro Pinarello | NSN Cycling Team | m.t. |
| 6 | Afonso Eulalio | Bahrain Victorious | m.t. |
| 7 | Lennert Van Eetvelt | Lotto-Intermarché | m.t. |
| 8 | Diego Ulissi | XDS Astana Team | m.t. |
| 9 | Andrea Raccagni | Soudal Quick-Step | m.t. |
| 10 | Michael Valgren | EF Education-EasyPost | m.t. |
Source: Revista Mundo Ciclístico