Widar strikes again in stage 6a of the Tour de l'Avenir, Decomble keeps leader's jersey ahead of time trial later this afternoon

Widar spectacularly won the queen stage on Thursday, but there would be more fireworks on the final day. The organization had planned a stage 6a for the morning, followed by a climbing time trial (stage 6b) in the afternoon.

The morning stage was indeed special. The riders were scheduled to start at 8 AM local time, a neutralization that would include the Col du Petit Saint-Bernard and the accompanying descent. At the foot of the Colle San Carlo, the flag would finally be waved. Via La Thuile and again the Col du Petit Saint-Bernard, the finish would be on a 2.1-kilometer climb in La Rosière.

The race ignited immediately, with Pablo Torres being the first rider to attack. Not long after, the Spaniard was caught again, but a group of favorites was immediately formed. In no time, we had a strong group of eight at the front: Torres, Paul Seixas, yellow jersey wearer Decomble, Lorenzo Finn, Widar, Max Bock, Mateo Ramírez, and Jørgen Nordhagen.

Finn then accelerated just below the summit, after which the Italian was caught again on the descent. The Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe talent had somewhat overdone it, as he would have to let go in the run-up to the second (actually third) climb of the day. Torres had just pulled away at the foot of the Col du Petit Saint-Bernard.

However, the group came back together again. Torres accelerated again, forcing Decomble to drop back. The Frenchman managed to catch up again, while Widar also accelerated. It was a great battle in the early morning, with the group of favorites entering the final kilometer almost together. Widar managed to win and gained 27 seconds on Decomble. The Frenchman retained his leader's jersey, with his compatriot Seixas as his closest rival, 29 seconds behind. Finn and Widar will start the time trial later this afternoon, 35 and 36 seconds behind, respectively.