NARVAEZ SIXTH IN E3 CLASSIC

ONE DAY RACE » HARELBEKE › HARELBEKE (207.6KM)

Jhonatan Narvaez battled to a strong sixth place in the E3 Saxo Classic in a day that saw the Ecuadorian active at the head of the race.

Luke Rowe was an unfortunate victim to an early crash, abandoning the race in the early stages. Good positioning work by Elia Viviani, Ben Swift, and Connor Swift, saw Ben Turner and Narvaez in the front group after an early selection on the Taainenberg.

The last 80 kilometres were punctuated by multiple attacks, with Jhonny following key moves by riders such as Wout Van Aert (Visma - Lease-a-Bike). Onto the infamous Paterberg and the Ecuadorian would go solo to try to catch the day’s eventual winner Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin - Deceuninck), before falling back into the chasing group ahead of the Oude Kwaermont.

The fast run to the line saw Narvaez in a select chase group, where he would sprint to sixth.

The cobbled racing continues on Sunday, with Gent-Wevelgem sure to present another exciting day of action.