Giro d'Italia 2026 Stage 4 recap: Jhonatan Narvaez victory boosts morale for depleted UAE, Giulio Ciccone moves into pink jersey

Ecuador champion Jhonatan Narvaez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) outsprinted Venezuelan champion Orluis Aular and Italy’s Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) to win the first stage on Italian soil of the 109th edition of the Giro d’Italia.

Ciccone’s third place – coupled with two bonus seconds in the earlier Red Bull sprint – saw the veteran 31-year-old Italian snatch the first pink jersey of his long career, on a day all the sprinters were blown away by Aular’s magnificent Movistar team.

The first big climb of this year’s Giro – the Cat.2 Cozzo Tunno – was always going to provide the focal point of an otherwise short and blustery 138km stage that largely played out alongside the Calabrian coast of southern Italy.

Battling a fierce headwind, an early six-man move went clear shortly after the start in Catanzaro, building up a maximum lead of over two minutes which saw Ireland’s Darren Rafferty (EF Education-EasyPost) comfortably into the virtual maglia rosa.

But once Aular’s Movistar team committed men to the front of the pack, the breakaway was quickly swallowed up before the pure sprinters were dropped one-by-one on the 14.5km climb, whose gradient peaked at a leg-sapping 11%.

No sooner had double stage winner Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) joined the likes of Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) and Dylan Groenewegan (Unibet Rose Rockets) off the back, than the overnight race leader, Uruguay’s Guillermo Silva (XDS Astana), was dispatched to the gruppetto.

Such was the pace that even Colombian champion Egan Bernal (Netcompany INEOS) saw the elastic snap two kilometres from the summit, the 2021 winner needing the help of team-mate Ben Turner and Canada’s Derek Gee-West (Lidl-Trek) – who had suffered an untimely mechanical – to pace himself back on the descent.

The Red Bull KM sprint, with just over 10km remaining, saw Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) pip Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Ciccone, putting the Swiss star level on time with three other riders in the virtual standings – including that man Ciccone.

Christen then tried his luck inside the final 2km, powering clear of the pack and coaxing a reply from Aular’s team-mate Enric Mas. A series of tight turns saw Christen pegged back, but UAE still had their ace card to play – and Narvaez duly delivered.

Powering on the left-hand side of the road, the 29-year-old made light work of the 3.7% ramp to the line to win by a couple of bike lengths ahead of Aular and Ciccone, whose third place sent him to the top of the standings.

Ciccone leads Christen, Germany’s Florian Stork (Tudor Pro Cycling) and Bernal by four seconds in the standings, with pre-race favourite Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) sitting comfortably in 11th place at 10 seconds after another relatively stress-free day in the saddle.

Narvaez’s victory was a welcome tonic for UAE following the earlier withdrawals of Adam Yates, Marc Soler and Jay Vine in the same incident where the Ecuadorian also hit the deck in Stage 2.

Australia’s Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and Belgium’s Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarche) both withdrew on Tuesday after their respective struggles with injury and illness.

Wednesday’s fifth stage is a lumpy 203km ride from Praia a Mare to Potenza that features two categorised climbs and some tough terrain, including another slightly ramped finale.

Confirmation of a career-first pink jersey for 31-year-old Giulio Ciccone thanks to his third place in both the Red Bull sprint and at the finish.

1. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek)
2. Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +04
3. Florian Stork (Tudor Pro Cycling) ”
4. Egan Bernal (Netcompany INEOS) ”
5. Thymen Arensman (Netcompany INEOS) +06
6. Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) ”
7. Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto Intermarche) +10
8. Enric Mas (Movistar) ”
9. Markel Beloki (EF Education-EasyPost) ”
10. Jan Hirt (NSN Cycling Team) ”

Today’s stage winner mentioned his absent team-mates Adam Yates, Jay Vine and Marc Soler in his post-win interview, but had a slight pop at his Swiss team-mate Jan Christen for his late attack.

”This victory here is really big for me coming from three months training in Ecuador. I want to send thanks to my family and my wife. My team have been a great support and this victory is obviously also for my team-mates who crashed in Stage 2. They have been working for a while to come here. Finally we take a win here so I think we are happy now.”

1. Jhonatan Narvaez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
2. Orluis Aular (Movistar Team)
3. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek)
4. Ben Turner (Netcompany INEOS)
5. Alessandro Pinarello (NSN Cycling Team)
6. Afonso Eulalio (Bahrain Victorious)
7. Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto Intermarche)
8. Diego Ulissi (XDS Astana)
9. Andrea Raccagni Noviero (Soudal Quick-Step)
10. Michael Valgren (EF Education-EasyPost)

With those bonus seconds for third place, the Italian climber takes the first pink jersey of his career for Lidl-Trek.

The Venezuelan took up the sprint with Guilio Ciccone on his wheel, but Narvaez surged past on the other side of the road and took an emphatic win.

UAE might have three riders at home or in hospital, but they have won Stage 4 of the Giro in Cosenza.

What a win for the Ecuadorian rider, who completes a fantastic move from UAE there. Christen was pegged back and Narvaez took it up – powering clear of Orluis Aular on the other side of the road and giving his team something to smile about. What a finish!

The only rider trying to peg back Christen is Enric Mas as they zip under the flamme rouge… But it’s now coming back together through this succession of sharp turns that precede the uphill stretch to the line…

Big pressure on Orluis Aular to deliver now after all this work from his team-mates – but it’s Jan Christen who puts on the first big attack with 1.7km to go.

Just 30-odd riders remain in this lead group as they approach the business end. On paper, the win should belong to Orluis Aular – but don’t discount one of the Visma riders having a pop from relative distance, or Diego Ulissi, the veteran Italian, who could put some joy back on Astana’s radar.

Meanwhile, the Paul Magnier sprinters’ group is over six minutes back, while the pink jersey gruppetto is 10 minutes in arrears.  

Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Intermarche) has withdrawn following his long struggles with illness.

Jhonatan Narvaez would usually like a finish like this, but he came down heavily in that crash on Saturday that saw his UAE team lose it’s three GC climbers in Adam Yates, Jay Vine and Marc Soler. Perhaps he will have a say in the finale – although his team-mate Jan Christen is rather mercurial and may fancy a pop himself.

Christen was 10 seconds down on GC but picked up six bonus seconds in the sprint. So he joins Stork and Bernal, who started the day four seconds down. Ciccone, with his two bonus seconds, also draws level as he was six seconds down this morning.  

Victor Campenaerts leads out his team-mate Jonas Vingegaard for the Red Bull KM sprint but he launches too early and is pegged back by Jai Hindley. Jan Christen then powers past on the right by the barriers – and the Swiss takes the six bonus seconds ahead of Guilio Pellizzari and Guilio Ciccone, so it’s Christen who might well be the virtual pink jersey now, not Florian Stork.

Ben Turner would have used up a lot of energy helping Bernal back, but he’s one to watch for this finale. Denmark’s Michael Valgren of EF Education-EasyPost is also in the mix. Aular is the clear candidate if it’s a regular sprint, but we might see some attacks near the finish. It’s also very technical, with those six corners and the 3.7% gradient to the line.

After their long battle off the back, the Colombian and the Canadian have managed to rejoin the peloton. Movistar still drive the pace with four riders on the front. Will this be their first Grand Tour stage win in two years? It’s looking good – but Orluis Aular is not the only rider capable of winning today. There’s also the small matter of the Red Bull KM, which is coming right up.

The peloton – of what’s left of it – remains all strung out as the end of this descent fast approaches. Bernal and Gee-West are still around 30 seconds back, with the pink jersey over seven minutes in arrears, and all the other sprinters (except Orluis Aular of Movistar, it seems) riding in dribs and drabs.

An untimely mechanical for Derek Gee-West (Lidl-Trek) sees the Canadian drop off the back. He’s now riding in a small chase group with Ineos duo Egan Bernal and Ben Turner, who has sacrificed his chances of a stage win today to help his Colombian team-mate. They are around 30 seconds down.

Here's when the elastic snapped for the Colombian champion near the top of the climb...

While the riders enjoy this long, twisting, scenic descent, enjoy the moment when Movistar threw down the hammer to dispatch the pink jersey Guillermo Silva to oblivion on the first major climb of this race.

1. Florian Stork (Tudor)
2. Thymen Arensman (Netcompany INEOS)
3. Guilio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek)
4. Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates)
5. Martin Tjotta (Uno-X)

It’s early days, though, and we will have to factor in bonus seconds from the Red Bull KM and the finish.

Portugal’s Nelson Oliveira is on the front of the splintered peloton as Movistar go over the summit of the Cat.2 Cozzo Tunno in control of this stage. They’re working for their fast man Orluis Aular, and also their GC hope Enric Mas, but there’s still a long way to go to the finish.

Aular, however, is perhaps the only sprint-minded rider left in this front peloton, so it’s looking good.

Egan Bernal might yet rejoin the fold because he’s crossed the summit only around 30 seconds down.