Widar breaks Pogacar’s Tignes record in Tour de l’Avenir 'release'
The Tour de l’Avenir has long been known as the cradle of champions. It was here that riders like Greg LeMond, Egan Bernal and Tadej Pogacar first signalled their potential to the wider world. On the slopes to Tignes, Belgium’s Jarno Widar added his name to that tradition with a victory that felt like more than just a result. As his coach Serge Pauwels put it, it was a release.
Twelve months ago, Widar left the race disillusioned. A bad day at a crucial moment cost him his chance in the general classification and left him carrying the weight of unfinished business. On Friday, he rewrote the story. He rode clear of Paul Seixas, Jørgen Nordhagen and the other favourites in the final kilometre to win the queen stage at 2100 metres.
“That is why this means so much for me,” he said with relief. “Last year I had an off day at a crucial moment, this year this was again one of the most important races on the calendar for me, so to win the queen stage feels special.”
Belgian national coach Serge Pauwels agreed, describing the win as a breakthrough. “I think this victory is a release,” Pauwels told HLN. “The general classification will probably be completely turned upside down on the final day. But whatever happens, the week is already successful for Jarno. The big step he is making this year is learning to deal with setbacks and showing resilience. In the past he sometimes let his head drop too quickly, but he has clearly grown in that.”
The numbers underline just how impressive Widar’s ride was. On the steepest 7.5km of the climb to Tignes he stopped the clock at 19 minutes and 17 seconds. That is over a minute faster than Tadej Pogacar’s time when the climb featured in the 2021 Tour de France, and almost two minutes better than Jai Hindley’s reference from 2016. “You cannot compare one on one, because race circumstances are always different and the approach was also different, but this is really strong,” Pauwels added.
French hope Seixas, who finished second, admitted he had no answer when Widar attacked again on the upper slopes. “I had hoped that the feeling would be better than during training a week or two ago,” he told DirectVélo. “Unfortunately it was not great. I could not handle the last climb. I was quickly in the red and in the lactic acid, and my heart rate did not go up. It was not a good day.”
Despite the defeat, Seixas remains second overall, ahead of Widar, with Frenchman Maxime Decomble still in yellow. Two decisive stages remain, including a mountain finish at La Rosière and a time trial on the same day.
For Widar, whatever happens next, the Tour de l’Avenir has already delivered what he calls a sense of liberation. A year after faltering here on a single bad day, he took his revenge by winning the queen stage and erasing Pogacar’s mark on Tignes.
