“I completely blew up” - Jarno Widar’s bright Grand Tour debut suffers blow as Belgian prospect drops out of Vuelta top 10
CyclingThursday, 27 August 2026 at 19:00
Jarno Widar suffered the first major setback of his Grand Tour debut on Stage 6 of the 2026 Vuelta a Espana, dropping out of the general classification top 10 after overheating on Puerto El Bartolo.
The 20-year-old had entered the day ninth overall at 4:06 behind Tadej Pogacar following an impressive opening five stages.
That included second place behind the Slovenian in Andorra, where Widar emerged as one of the strongest climbers in the race.
Widar was unable to reproduce that performance on the steep gravel finale towards Castellon de la Plana. He finished 24th and saw his overall deficit increase to 8:08, leaving him 11th and 1:38 outside the top 10.
Widar reaches his limit in the heat
“I struggled with the heat and became a little overheated, which left me completely on the limit,” Widar told Sporza at the finish. “I completely blew up on the final climb. I felt as though I couldn’t go any harder.”
The Lotto Intermarche rider began struggling before Pogacar launched his decisive attack with four kilometres remaining to the summit. While Enric Mas eventually caught the red jersey and Primoz Roglic led the next group of favourites, Widar slipped backwards through the field.
Pogacar and Mas contested the stage victory together, with Roglic, Felix Gall, Richard Carapaz, Harold Tejada and Ramses Debruyne finishing 46 seconds later. Widar was already several minutes behind and eventually crossed the line in 24th.
The Belgian had anticipated another aggressive day from Pogacar after the lengthy battle to establish the breakaway. “There was a huge fight to get into the breakaway and I knew Pogacar would go for the stage victory,” Widar said. “I think that when Pogacar wants to win a stage, he will win.”
Widar is now 11th on GC after stage 6
GC setback could create stage opportunities
Despite falling from ninth to 11th overall, Widar did not view the lost time entirely negatively. His deficit to Pogacar has almost doubled, but the increased margin could make UAE Team Emirates – XRG more willing to allow him into breakaways later in the race.
“With a view to winning a stage, it’s better that I’ve lost some time,” he explained. “The time loss doesn’t bother me. I’m simply taking it day by day and hoping for better legs tomorrow.”
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At 8:08, Widar now has greater freedom to attack without posing an immediate threat to Pogacar’s red jersey. He also remains only 1:38 behind Harold Tejada in tenth, leaving a return to the GC top 10 within reach.
Stage 7 finishes at Aramon Valdelinares, presenting another major climbing test less than 24 hours after Widar’s heat-affected losses on El Bartolo.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Pogačar and Mas going 1 - 2 like it's Il Lombardia 2022. What an amazing climb by Mas. Seriously. Is he suddenly positioned to be second to a Slovenian, once again?RidesHills27-08-2026
- Sure no problem you can shut up if you wantabstractengineer27-08-2026
- Not many million... just a little over two million of Slovenians...PogiSloFans27-08-2026
- I have huge bollocks... 🩸 😂😂PogiSloFans27-08-2026
- YesPogiSloFans27-08-2026
- It was very admirable that Josh even started the Vuelta in the first place. I can't begin to imagine what he's had to deal with for the past couple of weeks.
santiagobenites27-08-2026 - Noabstractengineer27-08-2026
- I said what I said, so shush. Capish?PogiSloFans27-08-2026
- Some are saying Pogačar has the best team around him. My bollocks... his team at the Vuelta is so "good" that his only serious help is Vine - who hasn't finished a single race since January and Pablo Torres - who had knee surgery 4 months ago and this is his first grand tour. Almeida is overrated, always was, just like Ayuso. You all have to realize that Pogi alone is a TEAM. God gave Pogi almost everything...talent as if it came directly from him... health, fame... he is a sports icon. He rules the world. Ad acta!!! PS: OMG, I'm using the word God... but I'm an atheist :))PogiSloFans27-08-2026
- Alright the first thing he said was wrong, Seixas did Dauphine, 8 days, already last year. Also, the logical conclusion is that Pogacar had a lot more room for improvementvappaxbipmv27-08-2026
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