ProTeam Jarno Widar impresses with fourth place in final stage of the Tour de Suisse

Before the start, Tadej Pogačar described the final stage of this Tour de Suisse— starting and finishing in the ski resort of Villars-sur-Ollon— as the toughest stage of his season. Riders faced 150.7 kilometres featuring four ascents of the Col de la Croix, a climb measuring 19.1 kilometres at an average gradient of 7%, for a total of 4,500 metres of elevation gain. Add temperatures of 35°C and it is clear the world champion was right. Pogačar took the win, while Widar delivered an excellent fourth-place finish just behind him.

An early breakaway of eleven riders stayed clear for a long time, but with eight kilometres remaining they were reeled in one by one by Pogačar. Widar launched his chase from behind. Apart from Lenny Martinez and Bart Lemmen, he too managed to catch the remaining breakaway riders. “At first everyone tried to follow Pogačar, but I immediately knew I had to ride my own pace,” said Widar. “We had already been riding hard all day and I saw riders dropping one by one. I knew that if I went over my limit, I would blow up.”

That steady approach carried the still only 20-year-old Widar to fourth place. “And I’m definitely happy with that,” he said. “When it became clear in the opening stage that I wouldn’t be able to compete for the overall classification, I could fully focus on this final stage. During yesterday’s time trial, I deliberately saved energy because I didn’t want to start today with tired legs.”

The Tour de Suisse was Widar’s first-ever WorldTour race. It was also— after Gippingen last weekend— his first competition following several months on the sidelines due to a knee injury. “I had hoped to test myself better for the general classification here, but unfortunately I can’t perform miracles. I wasn’t able to do an altitude training camp and I’m not yet adapted to the heat either. I felt that from day one. The second day was better, but I was badly positioned. I could have moved up, but then I would have risked blowing up again in those temperatures. I used stages three and four to recover.”

That strategy paid off. “I got the maximum out of today. I still need to analyse my numbers, but I never really struggled throughout the day and went all-out at the end. Looking at the whole week, maybe I failed my exam, but today I still give myself an eight out of ten.”

Liam Slock also enjoyed a strong Tour de Suisse. He climbed five places in the general classification on the final day to secure an excellent 19th overall position.

Photo: PhotoNews