Jarno Widar's teammate compares the U23 Giro champion to Giro winner Tadej Pogacar: "He's even more explosive than Tadej"
Cycling
Aleksandr Vlasov. Tom Pidcock. Juan Ayuso. The list of former winners of the U23 version of Giro d'Italia (currently called 'Giro Next Gen') is brimming with stars of the professional peloton and Jarno Widar is the latest addition to the exclusive club. At the age of 18! The Belgian won both decisive mountain stages which was enough to secure an overall triumph.
Most of his predecessors went on to have great careers afterwards. Whether Widar can also follow that example remains to be seen. "But this still makes us hope for the very best for the future," says Lotto Dstny sports director Kurt Van de Wouwer to Sporza.
"We knew that the Giro Next Gen was within its potential," said Van de Wouwer. "But as a first-year promise, we thought he would lack experience. He has enormous potential. The honors list of the Giro Next Gen also includes many big names. Will he follow them? The level is even higher among the pros. So it is important to keep your feet on the ground and keep working."
What does the Baby Giro say about Jarno Widar's future? Can the Limburg climber ever follow in the footsteps of the recent big Giro winner Tadej Pogacar? In any case, it is not the first time that the Belgian promise is mentioned in the same breath as the Slovenian. "It is the rider that Jarno comes closest to," his teammate and close friend Milan Donie even said. "I'm sure he's even more explosive than Tadej."
Not a small comparison, but not completely blown away either. On the climb of La Redoute, according to Strava, the difference is barely one second... Yet the Lotto talent is horrified by the comparison. "But Pogacar is a good example that the combination of classics and stage races is possible," he said at Het Nieuwsblad.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- for what?frieders311-11-2026
- Blah blah blah!frieders311-11-2026
- Where Merckx just rode every single race he could and won all the time, Hinault won less often (percentage wise) because he was more judicious in what he raced. His palmares are nuts. He had amazing rivals, one to start his career and another to end it in the grand tours. His classics were solid. What sets him apart from Merckx and Pogačar are that he basically dabbled in the classics while the other two love(d) them. I used to compare Pogačar to Hinault for his grand tour record and occasional classics win, until I realized that the comparison was wrong. Pogačar loves the classics - ah, the memory of his reaction to finishing fourth in a 2 person sprint in Flanders in ‘22: utter domination in any one day race since then, even when he doesn’t win. Hinault lived for the grand tours and I don’t think anyone else will ever reach his record. 10 wins in 13 attempts? Good lord. An amazing rider. Wish there was more footage to watch.RidesHills11-11-2026
- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
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3 stage wins, 1 white jersey and the Maglia Rosa 🩷👑 What a week in Italy it has been 🥇 Jarno Widar has become the first Belgian ever to win the Giro Next Gen and can take the Maglia Rosa home! What a team ✨
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