Lotto Dstny find common ground with Jarno Widar: "Jarno doesn't want to leave, and his financial demands are not impossible to us"

Jarno Widar had an exteremely impressive entrance to the world of U23 cycling, picking up handful of victories at one-day classics as well as stage races. Everything seemed to be moving in the right direction for a raid on the GC at Tour de l'Avenir. However Widar couldn't keep up in final stages and failed his goal. His subsequent statements published by DirectVelo then caused quite a commotion, as he blamed Lotto Dstny for the failure.

It all turned out to be a storm in a teacup, wrote Het Nieuwsblad in early September. With a contract until the end of 2027, Lotto Dstny is in a strong position, and the team made Widar a new offer, according to sports manager Kurt Van de Wouwer. "Jarno has indicated that he was not quoted quite correctly in the interview. It has always been our intention to adjust Jarno's contract. Our team aims to train young people and achieve success with them at the highest level. We are convinced that we can do the same with Jarno."

At Cyclism'Actu, general manager Stéphane Heulot confirmed that Widar does not want to leave and cannot. "We met with Jarno, his business manager, his manager, and Kurt. As he had heard, Jarno had questions that were very far from reality. He wanted to be reassured in terms of performance. Our project is growing, and we have nothing to do with other teams. We told Jarno we were unhappy with his statements, and he apologized. If we compare his season to that of Pablo Torres, Jarno did ten fewer days of racing. He's young, so you can't always be at the top."

According to Heulot, the €25,000 buyout fee is not accurate either. "The UCI can impose sanctions on riders, teams, and agents. There has to be an agreement between all three parties, and we have had no word from other teams. In extreme cases, a rider can always break his contract, but then he has to go to court, which costs a lot of money and time. We're not going to do that. Jarno doesn't want to leave, and his financial demands are not impossible to us. Maybe he will stay on the training team for another year, but we can also change that."