“Second behind the best rider ever isn’t bad, is it?” - Jarno Widar announces himself at Grand Tour level with breakthrough Vuelta ride
CyclingTuesday, 25 August 2026 at 18:36
Jarno Widar finished the first major mountain stage of his first Grand Tour ahead of Primoz Roglic, Enric Mas, Richard Carapaz, Sepp Kuss, Felix Gall and every other rider in the 2026 Vuelta a Espana bar Tadej Pogacar.
The 20-year-old took second place in Andorra la Vella after an assured ride through a stage Pogacar had blown apart with around 50 kilometres remaining. Widar resisted the temptation to follow the red jersey's initial attack, recovered into the battle behind and still had enough left after the final climb to beat the remaining GC contenders to the line.
The result moved him to ninth overall at 4:06, only 34 seconds from Mas in third, despite Widar arriving at his Grand Tour debut after illness at the Vuelta a Burgos had added another setback to an already disrupted first professional season.
“I’m proud, but I surprised myself a little as well,” Widar admitted afterwards to VTM Nieuws. “It’s a childhood dream that I get to race in this peloton.”
Widar trusts his own pace as Pogacar attacks
Pogacar's decisive acceleration came on the Collada de Beixalis after Decathlon CMA CGM Team had already helped make the short Andorran stage brutally selective.
Gall initially attempted to follow Pogacar, but Widar made a different calculation. “I felt pretty good,” he explained. “When ‘Pogi’ accelerated, I chose to ride at my own pace and I was able to come back to the chasing group.”
Widar did not remain permanently attached to the strongest chase. The battle behind Pogacar split again on the Coll d'Ordino, where Gall and Oscar Onley attacked before Roglic bridged across and Mas and Kuss also made contact. Widar was among the riders who subsequently returned on the descent towards the Alto de La Comella.
His approach was partly shaped by the profile still to come. “Afterwards I struggled a bit to find my rhythm, but I knew those final two climbs suited me better than the long climbs,” Widar said. “So I was confident I would get over them.”
When Gall accelerated again on La Comella, Widar was still in contention. Pogacar was already minutes up the road, but the Belgian reached the final descent with the riders fighting for the remaining podium places and then used his finishing speed in Andorra la Vella. “I had to come from behind with speed and it worked,” he said. “For my weight, I’m pretty fast at the finish. Second behind the best rider ever isn’t bad, is it?”
That second place came at the end of a stage on which Roglic finished third, Mas fourth, Kuss fifth, Onley sixth, Carapaz seventh and Gall eighth.
34 seconds from the podium but “still not here for the GC”
Widar's result also leaves him in a very different position in the overall standings. Pogacar's advantage already stretches beyond three minutes, but the contest behind him is extremely tight. Roglic sits second at 3:21, Mas third at 3:32 and Widar ninth at 4:06, meaning only 45 seconds separate second from ninth and just 34 separate the Belgian from a provisional podium place.
That was hardly an obvious scenario when Widar arrived at the Vuelta. His first professional season had begun promisingly with fourth at the Figueira Champions Classic before injury and illness disrupted the months that followed, including forcing him to miss the Ardennes Classics. Illness struck again at the Vuelta a Burgos shortly before he travelled to Monaco for his first three-week race.
Stage 4 offered the strongest indication yet that those problems have not prevented him from carrying his talent into a Grand Tour.
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Widar is nevertheless refusing to convert his position into a GC target. “I’m taking it day by day,” he said. “If I feel good, I hope I can show myself again. I’m still not here for the general classification.”
Widar therefore leaves the first mountain showdown of his first Grand Tour ninth overall, 34 seconds from the podium and having finished ahead of every established GC contender other than Pogacar.
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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- I assumed that even before the start of the Vuelta.MajorPayne25-08-2026
- I can't believe someone made me like Mou's post! You are truly special!MajorPayne25-08-2026
- What's boring is people complaining.Hills3325-08-2026
- Don't watch cycling... watch bowling, curling, dart throwing or chess...PogiSloFans25-08-2026
- Personally? We're over seeing this guy at the top EVERY freaking time {Lance Armstrong double?}. BORING!! PLEASE 🙏, give us some NEW hopefuls to get behind!!!f9ers5525-08-2026
- Pretty amazing since the race was in Monaco.zaz25-08-2026
- Wonder who is on the list of the best riders ever that are not proven dopers...Staal25-08-2026
- People win GTs by 2 mins which is considered a comfortable margin, Pogi is taking 3 mins in a stage, same like the TDF, GC over in a single stage. Now in training mode for the WCabstractengineer25-08-2026
- You can think whatever you want to and only Pogi knows what is important to him. But until someone else wins 7 or more Tours Armstrong still holds the title for the most. It doesn't matter if he was stripped of them for doping he still won them and against other people that were doping. And the UCI knows it that is why they didn't just give the titles to the second place finisher.Hc222825-08-2026
- And your tomorrow has become today, and yes, at this moment Pogi is 3:12 up on everyone.PogiSloFans25-08-2026
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