Narváez wins his second Giro d’Italia stage and Eulálio keeps the overall lead

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FERMO, Italy (AP) — Jhonatan Narváez claimed his second stage in the Giro d’Italia while Afonso Eulálio remained in the overall lead on Saturday.

Narváez attacked from a breakaway group of three on the penultimate climb, with 10 kilometers (six miles) remaining of the 156-kilometer (97-mile) stage eight from Chieti to Fermo.

The Ecuadorian rider crossed the summit finish 32 seconds ahead of Andreas Leknessund, with Martin Tjøtta 10 seconds further back.

The Giro is Narváez’s first race since he broke several vertebrae in a crash at the Tour Down Under in Australia in January. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider also triumphed on the fourth stage on Tuesday.

“We knew this was a stage that suited me. We raced it really well with my teammates," Narváez said. "In the finale, once I was alone, it all came down to the legs. The headwind made everything extremely tough. We never gave up and raced intelligently.

"It’s a great victory, especially after my crash in January and after the fact that here at the Giro we’re down to just five riders. There’s a great atmosphere within the team, and I think we’ll win more stages next week.”

Jonas Vingegaard crossed the line two seconds ahead of most of the rest of the general classification contenders. He trimmed the gap to Eulálio slightly to 3 minutes, 15 seconds. Felix Gall was 19 seconds further back in third.

Sunday’s ninth stage is a 184-kilometer (114-mile) route from Cervia that ends with a top-category climb to Corno alle Scale.

The 109th men’s Giro ends on May 31 in Rome.

The women’s Giro runs from May 30-June 7 with Italian rider Elisa Longo Borghini as the defending champion.

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AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling