Honatan Narvaez will leave Ineos at the end of the season to join UAE team Emirates, with whom he has signed a two-year contract.

The Ecuadorian native won the race's first pink jersey on the opening day of the Giro d'Italia in Turin, beating future teammate Tadei Pogachar.

After five seasons with Ineos, Narvaez moved to UAE Team Emirates, joining Adam Yates and Pavel Sivakov from the British team.

"Since the beginning of my career I always wanted to be involved in cycling at the highest level, and UAE Team Emirates is the best team in the world over the last few years. I feel that I have taken a big step forward with Ineos, but there is still room for me to take another step forward in the coming years," Narvaez said in a statement released by the new team.

"I feel that I have not fully matured as a rider and I hope to continue to progress and improve both as a classic rider and as an all-rounder.

Narvaez showed his cobbled prowess by finishing sixth in the E3 Harelbeke in March, but a big crash in Ghent-Wevelgem cut short his Classics campaign.The 27-year-old returned to Ecuador to train before the entire Giro and won the Naples, Fano and Sappada, where he came close to winning a stage.

He also won the Ecuadorian national title in 2024 and was selected for the Paris Olympics road race squad ahead of Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Richard Carapas.

Narvaez's move from the Ineos to the UAE had been rumored since the beginning of the summer, and there was little surprise when the deal was confirmed as soon as the transfer market opened on August 1. 15]

"We are very pleased to welcome Honatan to UAE Team Emirates for the next few years. He has shown his ability as a winner and a workhorse and we feel he will integrate well into our team." Honatan is an aggressive rider and has a lot of experience at the top level, and we are very pleased to welcome him to the UAE team.