DISCUSSION - Giro d'Italia stage 4: Emirates do more with two cards than the rest do with a full deck?

Jhonatan Narváez claimed victory on the fourth stage of the Giro d'Italia after surviving a selective and chaotic finale into Cosenza, while Giulio Ciccone emerged as the new wearer of the Maglia Rosa.

The 138 kilometre stage from Catanzaro to Cosenza marked the race’s first day on Italian soil and presented one of the most unpredictable profiles of the opening week. The uphill drag of the Cozzo Tuno, 14.4 kilometres at 5.9%, opened the door to several possible scenarios, from a reduced sprint to a late attacking move.

Unlike the previous stages, it took time before the breakaway was allowed clear. Eventually six riders managed to establish the move of the day: Warren Barguil, Niklas Larsen, Martin Marcellusi, Johan Jacobs, Mattia Bais and Darren Rafferty.

Their advantage quickly approached two minutes, but the peloton never allowed the gap to grow significantly. XDS Astana Team controlled the situation throughout the afternoon, unwilling to hand the race lead to Rafferty, the best placed rider in the escape.

The day also brought disappointment for Kaden Groves. The Australian sprinter, still suffering after his crash in the opening stage, was forced to abandon the race, another setback in a difficult season for both the rider and Alpecin-Premier Tech.

As the race approached the Cozzo Tuno with around sixty kilometres remaining, the breakaway’s advantage had fallen below one minute. That was the moment Movistar Team ignited the race.

The Spanish squad drove a fierce tempo on the climb in support of Orluis Aular, splitting the peloton and immediately distancing several sprinters. Among those dropped were Tobias Lund Andresen, Dylan Groenewegen, Jonathan Milan and points classification leader Paul Magnier.

Race leader Guillermo Thomas Silva also lost contact as the pace continued to rise. By the summit, the peloton had been reduced to an elite front group of around forty riders.

One of the biggest names caught out was Egan Bernal. The 2021 Giro d'Italia winner struggled badly on the climb and was dropped from the lead group, although teammate Ben Turner later guided him back during the flatter run towards the finish.

The fight for bonus seconds intensified at the Red Bull intermediate sprint. Jan Christen took maximum bonus seconds ahead of Giulio Pellizzari and Ciccone, keeping the battle for the Maglia Rosa wide open heading into the finale.

No decisive attacks succeeded in the final kilometres, although Jan Christen attempted one last surprise move inside the final two kilometres. The rider from UAE Team Emirates - XRG briefly opened a gap, but the reduced peloton brought him back before the finish line.

In the sprint, Orluis Aular launched early and appeared on course for victory, only for Jhonatan Narváez to surge past in the closing metres. The Ecuadorian national champion delivered a much needed stage victory for UAE Team Emirates - XRG after the squad had already endured several abandonments during the opening days of the race in Bulgaria.

Orluis Aular crossed the line in second place, while Giulio Ciccone finished third, a result that proved enough for the Lidl-Trek rider to move into the overall lead.

The Italian will now start Wednesday’s tricky fifth stage towards Potenza in pink, although the general classification remains incredibly tight. The top 25 riders are separated by less than ten seconds after four stages.

Unlike the opening three days of racing, today we finally saw some of the WorldTeams take the race on aggressively, and the breakaway was packed with quality riders. The strong winds blowing throughout the stage did not create major tension in the peloton, but they kept every team and all the main contenders for the general classification alert to the possibility of echelons forming at any moment.

On the approach to the day’s climb, the tension in the bunch began to rise. The Movistar Team took control on the ascent and set a brutal pace, one that immediately distanced the rider in the Pink Jersey and many of the sprinters who still had hopes of fighting for the stage win. Movistar moved to the front as a block, clearly signalling their intentions to target the stage with Orluis Aular.

I was surprised to see Egan Bernal dropped on that climb. These are not encouraging signs. If, on a day like this, on a climb ridden purely on tempo, he could not stay with the best riders, then what will happen in the coming days when the race becomes far more demanding?

The battle for the bonus seconds was an interesting one, with Jonas Vingegaard, the overwhelming favourite for the general classification, going head-to-head with Giulio Pellizzari for a handful of seconds.

With so many mountains still to come and massive time gaps likely to emerge naturally, is it really necessary to fight for every single second already? Is Vingegaard genuinely that concerned about Pellizzari? Pellizzari is no Tadej Pogacar… but Visma clearly have their own tactical approach.

UAE Team Emirates - XRG played two cards in the closing kilometres. First came a long-range attack from Jan Christen, who opened up a gap and forced Lidl-Trek and Movistar into a chase. Then, inside the final 500 metres, once Christen had been caught, it was Orluis Aular who launched his sprint. The Movistar rider looked destined to take the stage win, only for UAE Team Emirates - XRG to play their final card to perfection.

Jhonatan Narváez was in exactly the right wheel, launched his sprint at the perfect moment and stormed to victory by a comfortable margin. Another South American triumph at the Giro d’Italia.

We also have a new race leader, and it is one of the home favourites. Giulio Ciccone of Lidl-Trek now wears the Pink Jersey. If Derek Gee isn’t at his best, the Italian could become a card to play for the overall classification within the team. However, Ciccone’s strong start to the race could also point towards a major result by the end of the race

It was a more interesting stage than I would've expected. For that we have to thank Movistar, of course. We will never know if another team would've tried to do the same, but I really do not think so. With Orluis Aular in great climbing form, they pushed the pace, dropped every single sprinter in the peloton, and maintained a high pace all the way to the finish.

This was a different scenario than the expected, because unlike what we see later in a Grand Tour or one-day race, very few had ambition to win the stage, and so everyone remained conservative in the wheel, with only Nelson Oliveira pacing most of the final 45 kilometers.

But that lack of action - yes, I do have some riders/teams I can point my finger towards - led to an exciting finish with an intermediate and final sprint that got everyone on their calculators. Many riders take great pride in leading a Grand Tour, and so there was a ferocious battle for the first.

UAE then played their cards perfectly, with Jan Christen launching a perfectly timed attack and forcing both Movistar and Lidl-Trek to burn their leadout earlier than expected.

In the final sprint Orluis Aular looked the strongest, but he launched too early. Movistar did everything right but then the timing did not work out, which is a shame, they deserved the win. UAE on the other hand benefited from their tactics to have Jhonatan Narváez in perfect position to win a stage in his comeback race. The team needed such a win after the disaster of the first few days.

Rest day did look to affect Egan Bernal but we have to be realistic that a Top-10 is just about the best he can achieve here - and today he was close to losing it. For Giulio Ciccone reaching the pink jersey is a great achievement, and with Derek Gee struggling through the start of the race, the Italian may even himself try to go for GC after all.

What a stage by Movistar Team, only to crash into Jhonatan Narváez at the finish line after a titanic effort. That’s exactly the way the Spanish team needs to race if they want to aim for big things.