Widar Wonderkid

[GenericBoonenFan]

I'm going to jump the gun. That has never backfired before.

Jarno Widar is the most exciting Belgian prospect. Currenlty 19 years of age and reigning champion of the BabyGiro, this fine product of Belgian soil is set to turn pro with Lotto. We all know of the other Belgian wonderkid, dubbed to be the next Belgian winner of the Tour but I just don't think Cian can do it.

A native of Wellen (that's Wellens without an "s") he'll be well in the conversations of future GT-contenders. Truly the sky is the limit for this kid.

Today the 19-year old outclimbed the likes of Champoussin, Carapaz, Blackmore and JA Cepeda. The most interesting storyline in the next years however will be wether he stays at Lotto or leaves. The babyfaced Dave Franco lookalike will be on all our minds the next years. Let's enjoy it.

If you don't get my Dave Franco joke, than compare the younger version of the man with Jarno.

PS1: My first idea for a title would've been: "Wi(e)dar? Widar!"
PS2: My second idea was: "Jarne Widar, what how do you mean Jarno?" I think you can see why I didn't go with the latter.

 

[repre]

He is young gun. Explosive, huge acceleration. He'll win a lot of races.

 

[Tim Cahill]

I just hope they don't give him any media training or tell him to tone it down. They obviously haven't given De Lie any so positive signs!

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Just won LBL U23

 

[Mayomaniac]

Just won LBL U23

Are they gonna send that vertically challenged wafflehouse cook to every big u23 race again, so that he's too tired for L'avenir, just like last year?

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Are they gonna send that vertically challenged wafflehouse cook to every big u23 race again, so that he's too tired for L'avenir, just like last year?

Haven't been following his schedule. According to PCS, Avenir isn't even on the list.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Giro Next Gen, Avenir, U23 European and World Championships from the horses mouth last December, perhaps there have been changes since then though, he's also down for Ronde de l'Isard and Valle d'Aosta on PCS.

Just send him everywhere, what could possibly go wrong, Tour route looks soft this year, call him up early and get him going for GC.

Edit: Here it is https://www.lottocyclingteam.be/en/...n-young-talent-jarno-widar-commits-until-2027

 

[Lequack]

So now there are two Remcos.

 

[Peyroteo94]

This kid has everything to be a bust to be honest. We just need to look to his height and weight. When they are junior, these type of riders can be successful but with time, powerful riders will prevail. How many GT winners and monument winners did we have in the last 20 years with this height and weight? Probably just Quintana.

 

[Panda Claws]

Interesting take. I believe I once read that the optimal climber would nonetheless be a pygmy.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

This kid has everything to be a bust to be honest. We just need to look to his height and weight. When they are junior, these type of riders can be successful but with time, powerful riders will prevail. How many GT winners and monument winners did we have in the last 20 years with this height and weight? Probably just Quintana.

Except that Widar is a powerful rider as well, plus he's quite fast in a sprint. He does solos, wins GC sprints easily and he's a very good climber. As a junior, he wasn't even a real climber, more like puncher with an engine. Last year he started to focus more on climbing and he won baby Giro. He was more successful in the U23 than in the juniors. .

 

[Peyroteo94]

Except that Widar is a powerful rider as well, plus he's quite fast in a sprint. He does solos, wins GC sprints easily and he's a very good climber. As a junior, he wasn't even a real climber, more like puncher with an engine. Last year he started to focus more on climbing and he won baby Giro. He was more successful in the U23 than in the juniors. .

Time will tell. I already saw many riders like him (weight and height) doing well and then disappear in his late 20s.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Time will tell. I already saw many riders like him (weight and height) doing well and then disappear in his late 20s.

Time will tell. Not long ago people assumed short riders couldn't TT. Then Alaphilippe won a TDF ITT and Evenepoel is now World and Olympic champion. Widar doesn't fit the profile of the usual skinny short climber who gets dropped from the peloton when the race is raced hard. I'm not going to make predictions of what he can and can't do/win but i'm willing to bet he will win quite a few pro races.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Interview before the U23 Giro with very bad audio.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Tkzkh8b8ME

 

[Didinho]

Solo win. Good start of the Giro.

 

[Potomac]

Thread title suggestion:

Jarno Widar, the next Enzo Hincapie thread

 

[Samamba]

Crashed hard today. Won't start tomorrow, but luckily (probably) no fractures.

No 2nd Giro win in a row, but I would say that he showed he made a step forward this year. He looked stronger than before in the first mountain stage and also played it tactically perfect (which is new).

Will be back for Avenir, and fresher than last year. Aosta maybe already but too early to say.

 

[peterfin]

It's worth to mention that he scored a hatrick in Valle d'Aosta and won the GC easily. Due to the drama it was a diminished peleton but it is still remarkeable. He looks ready for the tour the Avenir.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

It seems rather harsh to dismiss the death of a 19 year old as 'drama'.

 

[peterfin]

It seems rather harsh to dismiss the death of a 19 year old as 'drama'.

That's not my intention. Dutch is my mother tongue. In dutch drama means that terrible things happened.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

My apologies: drama can imply 'fuss about nothing' or something invented, it has almost merged with 'melodrama' in popular use (which it shouldn't have done, but that's the way evolution of language has gone). Hope it doesn't sound patronising if I suggest 'tragedy' in such contexts.

As someone who would be considered more of a linguist than most products of English education (I worked in a very semantically focussed field in South America for some years, and would go weeks without seeing another anglophone), I am always most impressed with the level of English by the non-native speaker population of the forum, a great strength of our community.

People whose mother tongue is English confusing palpable and palatable, however, will continue to activate my teacher mode.

 

[ingsve]

So was the Tour de l'Avenir finally the test between Widar and Nordhagen people have been waiting for, where both were fit and there were no illnesses or crashes involved?

Turns out they are very very evenly matched. Widar is obiviously the more explosive one and Nordhagen is slightly better in ITTs.

 

[KoopaCycling]

Some very strong riders in this tour de l'avenir. Del Toro also only a few years older. There's Christen & Finn as well.
I'm surprised Pablo Torres finished on more than 2 minutes. Wasn't he the next spanish superkid?
Something happened?

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

So was the Tour de l'Avenir finally the test between Widar and Nordhagen people have been waiting for, where both were fit and there were no illnesses or crashes involved?

Turns out they are very very evenly matched. Widar is obiviously the more explosive one and Nordhagen is slightly better in ITTs.

With 2 TTs in one week and no boniseconds, the gap could have been bigger under different circumstances. Also Nordhagen is nearly a year older. (The gap from Seixas to Widar is the same as Widar to Nordhagen).

To me it confirms what I have been thinking the past two years, Nordhagen is not that generational talent he was hyped to be. Seixas may be, but we first have to see if he keeps evolving (like for instance Del Toro has) or stagnates (like for instance Uijtdebroeks for the time being).

 

[Brullnux]

So was the Tour de l'Avenir finally the test between Widar and Nordhagen people have been waiting for, where both were fit and there were no illnesses or crashes involved?

Turns out they are very very evenly matched. Widar is obiviously the more explosive one and Nordhagen is slightly better in ITTs.

No I think Widar was climbing much better than Nordhagen in the road stages. Nordhagen was the 5th best on Stage 5, and was clearly struggling to hang on throughout while Widar only struggled at the bottom of the steep section when Seixas was absolutely hammering it. Obviously Stage 6a wasn't televised, but from what I read Nordhagen was on the defensive against guys one or two years younger (in the case of Finn).

Widar clearly showed himself to be the best full-time U23 rider. Nordhagen was probably less strong than Finn (despite the final GC standings). Seixas better than all, but not better enough to drop them.

That said though, I'm not totally down and out on Nordhagen, given his (allegedly) absurd VO2 max. Maybe something hasn't quite clicked with his training or nutrition or whatever. I'll wait for another couple of years, who knows how his body develops.