Unbelievable: Widar and Seixas smash Pogacar's climbing record in the Tour de l'Avenir

It was an exciting battle in the fifth stage: Widar and Seixas pushed each other hard, but competitors such as Jørgen Nordhagen, Mateo Ramírez, and Lorenzo Finn also joined the fray. The young Belgian attempted to close the final kilometers, but Seixas managed to maintain the gap. However, the Frenchman had no answer to a second breakaway, and Widar won ahead of Seixas.

Widar thus took revenge for last year's Tour de l'Avenir, where he failed to live up to his status as top favorite. “After last year, when I had an off day on a crucial day here in Tour de l’Avenir, this win feels crucial to me,” he said on the Lotto website. “This is one of the most important races on the calendar for us, so to be able to win the queen stage feels very special.”

The French U23 race once again demonstrated that the youngest generation of riders is rapidly rising to the top of cycling. Widar set a new record on the way to Tignes: no one has ever ridden the steepest 7.5 kilometers of the climb faster. By way of comparison, in 2016 Jai Hindley rode that section in 21:14 minutes, while Tadej Pogacar took 20:28 minutes in the 2021 Tour de France. And Widar? 19:17 minutes...

Paul Seixas was 3 seconds slower on the steepest part of the climb. The Frenchman was hoping for the stage win, but fell short. "I had hoped that the feeling would be better than during training a week or two ago," he told DirectVélo. "Unfortunately, it wasn't great. I couldn't handle the final climb. I was quickly in the red and suffering from lactic acid, and my heart rate didn't go up. It wasn't a good day."

What didn't help was that the 18-year-old climber had to change bikes at the foot of the final climb. That not only meant he had to push hard to get back, but "I didn't have my power meter with me for the climb in Tignes. Managing the effort proved to be a bit more complicated. But that's no excuse. The stage was decided by pedaling, and he was stronger."

Nevertheless, he finished second and is still ahead of Widar in the GC. His compatriot Decomble is 51 seconds ahead of Seixas and 1.03 minutes ahead of the winner in Tignes. That's why Seixas is still positive. “I didn't do too badly, I didn't lose too much time. It's unfortunate, it's a stage I had marked. Tomorrow we have to regroup and go on the attack again. Together, we are losing almost nothing in the GC. It's still a good day for the French team.”