Narvaez and Arrieta shine on a turbulent opening week at the Giro d'Italia for UAE Team Emirates-XRG

• UAE Team Emirates-XRG rally to three stage wins during dramatic opening week at the Giro d’Italia.
• Igor Arrieta steals the headlines with stunning ride on route to Stage 5 win

News | Team –19th May 2026

As the peloton pauses for breath on the first rest day of the 2026 Giro d’Italia, UAE Team Emirates-XRG can be proud of their performances on a turbulent opening week that has tested the riders in more ways than one. From ferocious crashes and cruel withdrawals to exhilarating racing on the Italian roads, the team have emerged with three stage wins, rallying from the loss of key leaders to animate the race in spectacular fashion.

This year’s Giro began with a historic start in Bulgaria; the first time the Italian Grand Tour has ventured into the country to begin the battle for Pink. The opening stage belonged to the sprinters, with young talent Paul Magnier taking victory in a bunch sprint to claim the first Grand Tour stage win of the year.

Stage 2 soon turned into a nightmare for UAE Team Emirates-XRG. A huge crash on steep, rain-soaked roads, with 23KM to go, swept Adam Yates, Jay Vine, and Marc Soler out of the race, sending the team’s GC ambitions into disarray before they had truly begun.

The team responded in the only way they know how. On Stage 4, Jan Christen and Jhonatan Narvaez executed a flawless tactical move that lit the race up. Christen began his attack from 1.6KM out, injecting chaos into the chasing group and drawing every eye in the peloton. Despite being reeled in with just 200 metres to go, his effort had done exactly what was needed, fracturing the bunch and creating the ideal launchpad. Narvaez read it to perfection, surging through the disorder at precisely the right moment to take the win on the line. It was a masterclass in racing from a team that refused to let adversity define their week.

Then came Stage 5, perhaps the most extraordinary ride of the entire year. On another damp, treacherous day, Igor Arrieta attacked from 62KM out alongside Afonso Eulalio, the pair building a healthy advantage over the chasers. With 14KM to go and a gap of 1’25”, the stage looked set to be decided between the two. Then drama. Arrieta missed a corner and hit the deck, losing contact with Eulalio. 7KM later, on roads still slicked with rain, Eulalio crashed too, reopening the door. But with 2KM remaining, Arrieta missed his turning entirely, going the wrong way on the course and watching Eulalio slip away again. Any other rider might have crumbled. Not Arrieta. In true UAE Team Emirates-XRG never-say-die fashion, he turned around, gave absolutely everything to close the gap, and unleashed a scorching sprint to take his first career Grand Tour win. Emotion poured out of the young Spaniard as he crossed the line, claiming the win in the most dramatic circumstances imaginable.

On the GC front, Jonas Vingegaard has emerged as the man to beat. The Dane took a commanding Stage 7 victory over Pellizzari to assert himself in the general classification. Narvaez, meanwhile, saved some of his finest work for Stage 9. With workhorse Mikkel Bjerg alongside him in the breakaway, the Ecuadorian timed his move brilliantly on the decisive climb at Capodarco, accelerating clear of his rivals with his trademark punch. Arms aloft over the line, he made sure to give Bjerg his plaudits afterwards, whose selfless, relentless work in service of the team had made it all possible.

Vingegaard closed out the week in style on Stage 8, managing his efforts expertly before going clear on the decisive climb to take his second stage win and, with it, the Maglia Rosa as the peloton reached the first rest day.

Looking ahead, the race restarts with a 42KM time trial in Viareggio, where the GC battle will sharpen once again. The hills keep rolling through Stages 11, 12, and 13, with Narvaez eyeing a hat-trick of wins, before Stage 14’s brutal 133KM route with over 1,500 metres of climbing delivers what could be a decisive day in the mountains.

After a difficult opening marred by injury and misfortune, UAE Team Emirates-XRG rallied to take three stage wins in a week of high drama. The mountains are looming, the team’s ambitions are clear, and the hunt for more victories is very much alive.