Jonathan Narvaez wins the 11th stage of the 2026 Grand Prix; Afonso Eulalio holds the overall lead

He and his team’s remarkable Giro d’Italia continued with Ecuador’s Jonatan Narvaez winning the 11th stage.

The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider, 29, beat Spain’s Movistar’s Enrique Mas to the line.

Both riders broke away from the main breakaway group with about 18km to go in Wednesday’s 195km race to Chiavari near Genoa.

Italy’s Diego Ulissi finished third for XDS-Astana.

Narvaez’s form was a boot for the UAE team, who lost three of their strongest riders – including Britain’s Adam Yates – on the second stage in Bulgaria.

A harrowing crash in heavy rain forced the abandonment of this third race – with Yates, the team’s hope for the pink jersey, covered in mud and blood after colliding with the Armco barrier.

Australia’s Jay Vine also retired and Spain’s Marc Soler retired with a pelvic fracture – both taken to hospital.

The team’s response was to try to win the stage and – alongside Spaniard Igor Arrieta’s great fightback in the rain on the fifth stage – Narvaez has excelled on all terrain so far, using power in the sprints and showing too much for his rivals on both short and long climbs.

Narvaez later explained that he twice missed other riders who were away from the peloton early on and had to move to the front group – which requires a huge amount of energy to ride alone in the wind.

“Mass is stronger than me in climbing,” Narvaez said. “I remember reading a book (that said): ‘If you don’t have a game, make your own.’

“You don’t see Michael Phelps (running), he’s specifically for the (swimming) pool — so I tried to protect myself.”

Narvaez is expected to re-sign for his former team, Britain’s netcompany Inos Cycling, in 2027 as they look to add to their squad following fresh investment.

Portugal’s Afonso Eulalio unexpectedly remains in the overall lead after a quiet day for the peloton and will compete in pink on Thursday and day seven.

Denmark’s Visma-Lijs A Bike’s Jonas Vingegaard, favorite to win the pink jersey when the race finishes in Rome on May 31, is second overall, 27 seconds down.

Meanwhile, Britain’s 18-year-old junior road world champion Harry Hudson suffered a fractured vertebra in a training incident.

He posted on social media: “A little over a week ago while training in Girona I got off a motorbike and crashed and had a pretty terrible accident.

“I was discharged after 24 hours in the hospital. I am now recovering and at home.”

Britain’s Lewis Askey, 25, of NSN Cycling, finished third in the first stage of the Force Days of Dunkirk race in France.