Jan Christen receives time penalty for drafting in AlUla Tour

Jan Christen received a twenty-second time penalty after the opening stage of the AlUla Tour. The 21-year-old UAE Emirates rider crashed twice in a short period but managed to get back to the peloton by drafting. However, he still lost some time in the general classification.

It was not Christen’s day at the AlUla Tour: on his first race day of 2026, he went down not once but twice. After his last slide, the Swiss rider—previously considered one of the top favorites for the overall victory—seemed ready to throw in the towel. However, he then decided to give chase. He was eventually aided by some teammates, but initially, he tucked in behind a team car’s slipstream.

In the final kilometers, Christen rejoined the peloton, which finished just behind the leading group with stage winner Jonathan Milan. Christen crossed the line in 24th place (eleven seconds behind Milan) and seemed to have saved his GC hopes. However, after the stage, he was handed a twenty-second time penalty. As a result, he has dropped to 74th place in the overall standings. His deficit to Milan is now 41 seconds. Compared to many other favorites, Christen needs to make up twenty seconds.

Two more hilly stages
There are still four stages left in the AlUla Tour. Stages three and five appear to be the key battles for the GC contenders. Stage three finishes atop Bir Jaydah Mountain Wirkah (4.9 km at 5.8%), and stage five finishes on the plateau after the decisive Harrat Uwayrid climb (2.9 km at 12%). In short: Christen still has chances to claw back his lost time.