Shortly after the race began in Australia, Ineos Grenadiers' Honatan Narvaez was touted as one of the riders to watch. When he sprinted from the break to win the pre-Tour criterium, the Down Under Classic, there was no doubt that the Ecuadorian rider was in fierce form to start the season.

After the final stage of the Tour Down Under, Narvaez said, "I prepared very well for the race. But "in the end there were stronger riders than me."

In other words, despite a strong lineup, including Ineos Grenadiers with Elia Viviani in the sprint, he was left frustrated at the bottom of the podium.

"It hurts that we came so close to winning not only the stage but also the GC, but that is why this sport is so beautiful. Congratulations to Stevie Williams and to Israel Premier Tech."

"For us, we knew that Johnny had been working hard all winter and was in great shape. He is expecting a baby in February and will be with his family for a while. [Although Narvaez jumped on the Luke Plapp (Jayco Aroura) move, he had no intention of working with the Ineos Grenadiers rider, as he was a threat to the prospects of the Australian team.

However, come the weekend, the climbers and GC riders were the key to the competition. First, on the all-important Willunga Hill, Oscar Only (dsm-Farmenich Post NL) and Stephen Williams (Israel Premier Tech) took first and second place ahead of Narvaez. The two then tied for first overall, but thanks to a countback, Williams was ochre-tipped and Narvaez finished just five seconds behind.

In other words, even if there was no time difference on the final stage, which finished in Mount Lofty, the overall lead was still within reach as long as they got the final stage win and the 10 second bonus that came with it.

"I didn't want to leave the break as it was," Cookson said. That was evident in how much work Ineos Grenadiers did up front to pull back a group of seven who had jumped out early in the 128-km stage. "We were hoping to get the time bonus, but we knew it would be difficult against Stevie. He's very fast after a hard race and fast overall, so I knew I had to work hard to get the time bonus.

Ineos Grenadier was also able to make the break. Stage 2 winner Oscar del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) provided the spark, and Narvaez, Williams, del Toro, and Bart Lemmen (Visma-Ries-a-Bike) were all looking for a podium finish. However, there was no stopping Williams, and Narvaez remained in second place on the stage and in the overall standings. Narvaez finished 9 seconds ahead of Williams and 2 seconds ahead of del Toro, while Only finished fourth in the second group.

"Johnny must be frustrated. 'He put in a lot of hard work over the winter and came here hoping to win the GC, but he came second in the GC, won the criterium, and his team put in this kind of performance.'