Widar enchants on his debut: 2nd place in Andorra behind a Pogačar in a state of grace

Jarno Widar was already considered one of the most interesting young riders to follow in this Vuelta a España, and the Belgian is already making his mark after just four days of racing.

The 20-year-old from Hasselt, who turned professional this year with Lotto-Intermarché after dominating the Under-23 categories alongside Paul Seixas, has already achieved notable results despite a knee injury in the spring: fourth place on Malhão at the Volta ao Algarve, fourth in Villars-sur-Ollon at the Tour de Suisse, and fourth on Pineda de la Sierra at the recent Vuelta a Burgos.

But it was on Tuesday's fourth stage that Widar made a quantum leap, riding in the chasing pack behind lone winner Tadej Pogačar and sprinting for second place in Andorra la Vella. The Lotto captain in Spain admitted he was surprised by his performance.

"No, it's not normal. I'm actually a bit surprised today, and I'm incredibly proud of it," he told Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws at the finish line.

"I'm very proud of myself. And I'm also very honored to race with these guys, because it's a childhood dream."

Widar was by far the youngest of the eight riders in the elite group – three years younger than white jersey Oscar Onley – who regrouped behind Pogačar in a short but very tough stage, with almost 3,000 meters of elevation gain in just 105 km.

The Belgian had dropped away, along with names of the calibre of Enric Mas, Richard Carapaz and Mattias Skjelmose, on the penultimate climb of the day, the Coll d'Ordino, but the group managed to regroup before the final ascent.

On the climbs, as Carapaz and Skjelmose lost ground, Widar nimbly stayed in the slipstream of the leaders, then outsprinting Felix Gall and Onley to take second place in his first mountain stage of a Grand Tour.

"I felt pretty good. It was actually a bit of a struggle to find the rhythm. Because when there was an acceleration, as I expected, few people were able to follow, but I managed to find my pace and get back into it," he explained.

"On the Ordino, I really struggled. I struggled a lot to find my rhythm. But we came back downhill. Then I realized, 'Okay, these last two climbs suit me better than the long ones.' So I was already confident that I could get through them with the group. And then I knew I had to come from behind quickly, because there's a wide bend. And I did it."

Widar is one of the most highly rated talents to emerge from the Under-23 category in recent years. At just 18 years old, he won the Giro d'Italia Next Gen, the Alpes Isère Tour, and the Giro della Valle d'Aosta. As if that weren't enough, last year he triumphed at the Ronde de l'Isard and the Valle d'Aosta, before finishing second to Seixas at the Tour de l'Avenir.

It's no surprise that his move to the pros this year has been met with great anticipation from the Flemish media. He hasn't yet raced more than eight consecutive days, so expectations for this Vuelta must be kept under control, but there's no doubt: this is a truly impressive start.

"For now, just stay calm and see what the rest of the Vuelta brings," Widar said.

"As I said about the Vuelta, 'let's take it one day at a time.' And if I feel good, I hope to achieve a result like that again, but yes, first of all, one day at a time.

"Pogačar is the best in the world, the best ever, I think, so it's natural that he'll win. I'm very happy to have finished second."