‘Already part of the family’ – Jhonatan Narváez ready for UAE debut Down Under

Just hours out from the start of the 2025 road season, a sense of calm surrounds Jhonatan Narváez as he goes about his day-to-day business in South Australia.

Overcoming jet lag, conducting media duties and preparing his body for the rigours of a WorldTour stage race are all among his priorities in the week before the Santos Tour Down Under. Between attending pre-race interviews and banking important kilometres in the legs, Narváez has spent the past few days becoming accustomed to his new teammates and a new home in UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

The 27-year-old is one of four new riders joining the team’s seven-rider strong lineup for the curtain raiser, but with his graceful wire-framed glasses and a gentle smile, Narváez has not let his new surroundings dim his sense of leadership as one of the team’s protected riders.

In a quiet but assured manner, the Ecuadorian national champion has quickly become a figurehead within the UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad in Australia.

Often looked to for advice on training routes and best practices, Narváez has even been on hand to remind his new teammates of their dress code for everything from evening meals to official rider headshots. The winter signing from Ineos Grenadiers appears a man with maturity beyond his years, something that Narváez pins down to having learned from some of the best riders of the last decade.

“I think it was part of the school of Ineos,” says Narváez. “With many things, they had a certain way of doing things and I learned to be disciplined as both a rider and as a person. This pattern has followed me throughout my career and made me the rider I am now.

“When I joined Quick-Step, they were the best Classics team of their generation and when I joined Team Sky, it was a time when they had Chris Froome and Egan Bernal. It has always been my way to watch these guys and learn the positive traits that can make me a more professional rider.”

Having spent six years with Ineos Grenadiers, where he achieved the best results of his career to date, Narváez put pen to paper on a deal which will see him ride for UAE Team Emirates-XRG for the next two seasons. It is a move which marks a special moment in the Ecuadorian’s career, as he joins the No.1 ranked UCI WorldTeam from both 2023 and 2024.

“It feels really nice because it is the best team in the world and when you have this offer, you don’t think too much” admits Narváez. “If they are the best team in the world for two years, it means the team is certainly doing something right.”

Born and raised in El Playón de San Francisco in the north of Ecuador, Narváez has been riding for almost as long as he can remember. As a child, the family home was a haven to those on two wheels, with his father a keen amateur and his older brother a racer in his own right until the age of 18. Between watching his older sibling compete across Ecuador and viewing the likes of Alberto Contador on the racing footage broadcast from Europe, Narváez fell in love with the sport.

By the age of 16, Narváez had won the Vuelta del Futuro ahead of fellow future WorldTour pros Bernal and Brandon Rivera, with multiple Pan-American junior titles awaiting him over the coming couple of years.

Though a string of notable riders emanated from his corner of South America, even the talented youngster could not have dreamt of one day joining the best team in the world.

“If I look 10 years ago when I was a kid, I just said that my dream was to ride in the WorldTour, but now that I am riding for the best team in the world, I am proud of what I am doing. Of course, victories will hopefully come in the future, but for now, I am just so happy to be part of the team,” he says in earnest.

Already part of a tight-knit squad in Australia which includes former Santos Tour Down Under champion Jay Vine, three-time Vuelta a España stage winner Marc Soler and Olympic champion on the track, Rui Oliveira, Narváez is ready to make his WorldTour debut for UAE Team Emirates-XRG alongside fellow new signings Pablo Torres, Rune Herregodts and Julius Johansen. For the seven riders, the six-day stage race offers the perfect opportunity to hit the ground running in 2025.

Good memories from Giro d’Italia, but Narváez is keen for more

Beginning with a flat stage to Gumeracha on Tuesday, the 2025 Tour Down Under appears to be a race that should offer many opportunities to a rider in Narváez’s ilk. A more than capable climber with a lightning-fast sprint to match, Narváez provides UAE Team Emirates-XRG with a handy option to race aggressively alongside Vine’s ambitions in the overall classification.

“If you think about a guy like me, with my characteristics, it is a positive and a negative because many races in the calendar suit me. Racing as a favourite is so hard, but I will try to achieve many victories throughout the year.”

Despite the weight of expectation often falling on his shoulders, Narváez is not one to shy away from the challenge.

“I think responsibility is part of the sport,” he notes. “You are training hard in order to have nice victories and I think it is part of the sport to manage the pressure in a good way – because it can be bad sometimes. These days, I think I can manage it well.”

Those who have been tracking Narváez’s progress over the years will by now have become accustomed to his ability to step up to the mark on the big occasion. One victory, in particular, stands out among the 11 he has taken as a professional.

“Of course, it was the best victory of my career,” smiles Narváez at the mention of his stage 1 win at last year’s Giro d’Italia. Taken on the banks of the Po River in Turin, Narváez’s victory that day was achieved ahead of his now-teammate Tadej Pogačar in third place. The pair had broken free of the pack on the final climb of the day and using his fast finish to his advantage, the Ecuadorian pipped Max Schachmann to the line and the overall lead of the race.

“To beat Tadej and take the maglia rosa that day was really amazing for both me and my career,” Narváez remembers. “It was painful to stay on Tadej’s wheel because he attacked many times, but I know that if I pass the climbs, I can have a chance in the sprint finishes. It was like this in the Giro. I was on the limit on the climb, I recovered on the downhill and then I had the chance to beat him in the sprint, so it was an incredible day.”

Not content to hang his hat on past victories, however, the 27-year-old is keen to leave his mark as a UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider in Australia.

“It has been a long time since that victory in the Giro, so now I have new goals and new objectives with the team.”

Beginning the race as an important teammate to team leader Vine, Narváez sees the Tour Down Under as a chance to get to grips with his new equipment whilst racing hard to give the team an option when the road dictates.

“It is going to be my first race with the team. I am trying new equipment, a new bike, new glasses and more, but I know I have been training well, I know we have a good team and we must play our cards with this team. I am really hoping to support Jay, as this route really suits him as a favourite, and if the road presents us with an opportunity for me, I’ll be ready to take my chance.”

Later in the season, Narváez will hope to produce the goods for UAE Team Emirates-XRG in the one-day Classics, before helping his rival-turned-teammate Pogačar chase a second consecutive Tour de France title in July. Named in the team’s provisional lineup for the biggest event of the summer, Narváez is full of excitement for what would be his debut in the race won twice by his childhood hero, Contador.

For the moment, though, all eyes are on South Australia, where the Ecuadorian champion will take to the start of the Tour Down Under on Tuesday. Under the warmth of an Australian summer, Narváez has already found his spark for what lies ahead for him and his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates.

“It is exciting to come here with my new team and already I have a good feeling because they have made me feel part of the family,” he concludes.

“This is one of my favourite races on the calendar. I am just really looking forward to racing alongside my new teammates for the first time over the next week.”