'He went too long' – Narvaez explains how he beat Pogacar in 'special' Stage 1 victory

Pogacar raced up the final uncategorised climb of the opening stage of the first Grand Tour of the season, with only Ineos Grenadiers’ Narvaez and Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) able to keep pace.

When asked by reporters how difficult it was to remain within touching distance of the two-time Tour de France winner, Narvaez said: “It still hurts me now. [It was] really, really hard.”

Further dissecting the victory, Narvaez explained how he thought Pogacar started sprinting too early, allowing him to swoop in for a last-gasp overtake.

“It was a great feeling,” he said. “We know with the team it’s going to be a good stage for me, I worked a lot on it. Also following the best guy in the world in the climb was really hard so it’s a special victory today.

“It was really, really hard. In the end I made it. I think he [Pogacar] went too long, 200m after a really hard stage. I did a shorter sprint, in the end I took the victory.”

Pogacar agreed with Narvaez’ assessment, and credited the Ecuadorian for a “super strong” display.

“He followed my wheel really well and the group on the front had too big a gap in the bottom,” Pogacar said.

“I tried, I gave it everything and I still dropped GC riders, and this is the sign that I have good legs. But when we come to the top of the climb and Narvaez was still with me, I knew he would be hard to beat in the sprint.

“I was also a bit nervous because it’s been a long time since I was in a sprint with three guys. So I started too early, but Narvaez was obviously faster. I didn’t have too much chance, but anyway, it was a really good effort today.”

Pogacar, who entered the Giro d’Italia as favourite, remained upbeat about the remainder of the three-week-long Grand Tour, despite finishing behind both Narvaez and Schachmann.

“It was our first day at the Giro, a short and fast stage which we tried to control,” Pogacar said in a statement. “Unfortunately it was not our day but we still did a good job I think.”

After the race, he added: “It’s always a bit 50/50 on the first day, we see some riders suffering and some feeling good, so I think also in our team, we’re going step by step, day by day.

“Tomorrow is more suited as a stage for us, I would say, so we’ll see how the legs are going after today’s effort. But I think it’s going to be a good Giro.”