UAE gives Jhonatan Narváez update after bad crash

As (former) pro Mike Woods said, cycling can be a “cruel, cruel sport.”

Team UAE Emirates rider Jhonatan Narváez definitely showed that during the reshaped Queen stage of the Tour Down Under. Amid bushfire fears due to very hot temperatures (43 degrees!), the route was changed, avoiding the infamous Willunga climb. It ended up being a race for the sprinters, not the climbers. But for Narváez, it was a DNF. The Ecuadorian was sitting in second behind Jay Vine but crashed badly and had to withdraw.

“We have a medical update after Jhonatan Narváez and Vegard Stake Laengen were sadly forced to withdraw from the Tour Down Under,” a report from the team read.

The team’s medical director Adrian Rotunno said Narváez and Stake Laengen were both involved in separate crashes on Stage 4 of the Tour Down Under.

“Narváez was taken to hospital for precautionary spinal and neurological assessment. He has sustained several stable thoracic vertebrae compression fractures that will not require surgery at this stage. He is currently stable and will be kept in hospital for further observation,” he said. “Laengen was also involved in a later incident and taken to hospital for assessment. He has a suspected rib injury but is stable, and will be monitored further over the coming days.”

Ethan Vernon took Stage 4, with Michael Leonard finishing safely in the bunch, retaining his 7th overall–although losing his white jersey for best young rider. There is one stage remaining in the Tour Down Under.

Stage 5 starts and finishes in Stirling, coming in at 169.8 km. It’s got some lumps in it, as well as more time bonuses. Leonard lost his jersey to Andrea Raccagni Noviero (Soudal Quick-Step). The Italian earned the maximum time bonus of three seconds and now leads the young rider’s competition. Whether Leonard tries to regain it is unclear, but certainly a top-10 in a WorldTour stage race would be a great way to start off the year with his new team, EF Education – EasyPost.