Tour Down Under 2025, Narvaez wins

Rome, January 26, 2025 - The Tour Down Under 2025, the first race of the year, ends with the victory of Jonathan Narvaez, which thus opens his new adventure in the best possible wayUAE Team Emirates-XRG.

Narvaez's statements

 The Ecuadorian also bagged a stage, yesterday's Wilunga Hill which allowed him to shape the advantage (9" su Javier Romo) managed today at Adelaide, where he triumphed for the third time Sam Welsford. "Today was not an easy day in this criterium with many curves, but in the end we won and I think this was the most important race of my career, as well as one of the main ones on the calendar. World Tour and the first in chronological order: doing well here was very important for me". narvaez does not hide his satisfaction but, at the same time, he is already looking ahead to what will be the continuation of a season that is just starting out. "Looking to the future, my main goal is to be in shape for the Classics in Flanders and in Ardennes, before getting ready for the Tour de France". On that occasion the Ecuadorian will work under the command of Tadej pogacar, curiously beaten in the stage 1 of the Giro d'Italia 2024 on the occasion of that sprint which was also worth the conquest of the first symbol of the primacy: the Slovenian thus missed the en plein in pink which remained indigestible to him despite the double with the Tour de France which would be signed within just over a month.

Latour towards retirement?

 From Tour a Pierre Latour, which also in 2025 will defend the colors of the TotalEnegies Team. And then? "It was a very negative year (he uses a much more colourful expression, ed.) which lasted practically until the Paris-Nice. Then I broke two ribs and from that moment on, between pain, iron deficiency, lung infection and small illnesses that arrived, it was a continuous struggle. It was an interminable ordeal in which I didn't enjoy myself very much". These are the very frank words to the microphones of The Team of French, which for the 2026 does not deny that he is also thinking about retiring. "It depends. If things go well and if I still have fun, because I don't see myself continuing just for the sake of it. Doing races where you are useless is not pleasant and if I get bored I might stop". Among the 'evils' of Latour there is also the atavistic fear of descents born after the very bad fall of 2019. "I've tried different approaches and each time the problem seems to go away. Then unfortunately it's enough for me to fall or get scared and everything comes back to the surface."

Read also - Lecce-Inter 0-4