Narváez stays with UAE until 2029 - Giro lead and Pogacar support enough to hold off INEOS' attempts
Cycling
The rumours this spring were intense that Jhonatan Narváez might be leaving UAE Team Emirates - XRG and head back to Netcompany INEOS. However the tables have been turned, and the Ecuadorian's success over the past month and a half has helped him make a decision on his future seasons.
A departure would only come at a high value, after Narváez tremendous work around Tadej Pogacar in 2025 including Milano-Sanremo, the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and the Tour de France. With tremendous explosivity but also a never before seen capacity in the high mountains, Narváez became an incredibly valuable part of UAE.
Hence, everything was done to secure his contract. “I’m very happy to extend my contract with UAE Team Emirates-XRG," Narváez said in a press release. "From the moment I arrived, I felt the confidence of the team and I quickly knew this was the right place for me. We have an incredible group of riders and staff, and every day there is a real desire to improve and win together".
The renewal applies all the way into 2029, therefore the next three seasons. "The last two seasons have been some of the best of my career and I believe I can continue to grow here. We have already achieved a lot together, but I feel there is still much more to come. I’m excited to continue this journey and to keep contributing to the success of this team in the years ahead.”
Jhonatan Narváez and Tadej Pogacar on the Poggio, Milano-Sanremo 2025
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Narváez, an ultimate weapon for UAE
In 2026 the Ecuardorian was given more opportunities to lead on his own, and only injury came in the way. At the Tour Down Under he and Jay Vine were dominating the race until Narváez crashed out. He spent the entire spring out of action, but seemingly that was no obstacle as he returned to racing at the Giro d'Italia with incredible form.
Narváez won three stages, one in a reduced bunch sprint and two from breakaways. This even put him on path to potentially win the maglia ciclamino, despite never turning into a goal until the halfway point of the race.
He then had to abandon the race with a minor injury, but once again it felt like nothing would get in his way as at the Tour de Suisse his form was stellar once again. On stage 2, Tadej Pogacar personally tried working for his teammate to win the stage, but the breakaway would succeed and he would stay in the chasing group to the World Champion.
But the following day, Narváez was given freedom to join the breakaway and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands, winning it with a small gap whilst behind UAE attempted to disrupt the chase when possible. It was a sign of the team's commitment to the Ecuadorian's own ambitions. The renewal comes as a sign of mutual trust between the two.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- It doesnt take a genius to understand that Pogi is 1 level above and Pogi is younger that Jonas, so Jonas will not win under ordinary circumstances. Pogi has to crack hard for Jonas to win. It doesn't matter whether you defend Jonas or not , facts remain facts. Jonas himself says his numbers are better than 2022/2023, so Jonas is more or less optimized and we are just see the stochastic variation due to other factors. I think he will retire along with Pedersen in WC denmarkabstractengineer13-11-2026
- They only raced each other during the 2026 Tour, but here's a few metrics to look at. Stage 3 (Granollers to Les Angles): Pogačar won the stage, finishing 2 seconds ahead of Vingegaard (2nd). Del Toro finished 24 seconds behind Stage 6 (Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre / Col du Tourmalet): Pogačar won solo, Vingegaard finished 2nd (losing 2:38), and Del Toro finished 3rd (at +2:57, finishing 19 seconds behind Vingegaard). Here, Jonas Vingegaard outclimbed Isaac del Toro by 19 seconds on the mountain stageawp13-11-2026
- your clinging to the past. Jonas was dropped by del toro many times last year and jonas never managed a climbing numers del toro did in dauphine last year -entire year. Trend is also evident theres no discussion your living in the past, its beent he same with jonas for many years now and only developing, meanwhile del toro is rising and developing greatly. This is all obvious stuff and im not even a del toro fan. No point discussing numbers or this i suspect you dont watch much now but rather think its 2022 still cause this aint hard.miguel13-11-2026
- We can go through metrics if you like, Del Toro, who I do admire and support, is not on the same level as Jonas just yet. You will see that in early 2027 if they have any crossover races. I do hope they both race the Giro. You are correct though, Jonas is getting older and will not be able to hand on much longer. I see 2027 as a good year for him. Obviously behind Tadej though.awp13-11-2026
- What wins? Are you LA operating under a pseudonym?mij13-11-2026
- My point is this - Tadej, Remco, Seixas are all the outliers. Many riders don’t hit their peak until 28. It’s way too early to write him off. And the pogi slo guy that hates him - he’s also immature. Ayuso needs time.mij13-11-2026
- Then you need to use ur eyes or head if you have cause del toro already dropped jonas two times and beat him in tdf stages already this year.. Del toro climbed(dauphine) better numbers than jonas did all year too. So ur feelings and wishful thinking doesnt amtter del toro himself has already surpassed jonas infact just facts. Its also very evident for anyone objective that Jonas is declining alot, its just the truth and super obvious.miguel13-11-2026
- None of those victories stand, so there's that,wrsty13-11-2026
- No surprise there; it is British Sycling, yes, with an S
Rafionain-Glas12-11-2026 - I like Del Toro but he's not on the level of Jonas, by a large margin.awp12-11-2026
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