UAE hope that Narváez can be the base for Jan Christen's development - "He misses a little bit of the killer instinct"

Jan Christen is a very talented rider, however one that doesn't have the 'killer instinct' according to a UAE Team Emirates - XRG sports director. That is something the team is looking to develop, with the guidance of the (so far) three-time Giro stage winner.

Christen has often found issues in the past, with rival teams and even in his own - as CyclingUpToDate reported earlier this winter. His tactics have often been questioned, despite his talent as a puncheur being very apparent. However it is necessary to have the legs, but also know how to apply them.

For a young rider, that is not overly unusual, has it takes time to learn the ropes of professional cycling and to obtain crucial experience. UAE believe that Narváez is a very similar kind of rider, who has that in him. “He misses a little bit of the killer instinct that Jhonny has. We would like to see Jan at the front as well," Fabio Baldato, sports director at UAE, told In de Leiderstrui.

At this Giro d'Italia, Christen was very active on the opening days, chasing the pink jersey through sprints in the hilly days and intermediate sprints. He was close, but Giulio Ciccone did it on stage 4 ultimately, where the then white jersey Christen had to settle for second place.

After that stage, where he attacked the finale and was close to the stage win, Narváez himself - the eventual winner - commented that "he needs to learn how to race", however most likely it was not with a negative tone, but something potentially misinterpreted due to his non-native English.

But the sentiment in UAE is that Christen sees how Narváez races, and learn from the Ecuadorian. "He is young, and hopefully by racing with Jhonatan he can learn how to do it. As a joke, Jhonny said to Jan in the bus this morning that he had to follow him if he wanted to be in the breakaway. It was a joke, but in the end it turned out to be true.”

“He makes a lot of jokes, but he also wants everyone to be organized and focused. He teaches the young guys how they should behave. If the bus is a mess, he will say something about it. For us, he is a great guy, with his spirit and experience.”

In a time where Narváez is rumoured to return to Netcompany INEOS, his importance at UAE is shown to be more and more important. Whilst he is not a climber and does not challenge the hierarchy of Tadej Pogacar; more and more it becomes clear that not only is he a gold-standard domestique for the Slovenian, but also a capable leader in his own right and also a true team captain for his teammates.

“He never plays the boss, but he really creates team spirit. Winning so much only helps with that," Baldato concluded.