Jonathan Milan wins after crosswind chaos in AlUla Tour
Jonathan Milan claimed the opening stage of the AlUla Tour. After a stage marked by crosswinds, the Italian won the sprint from the first echelon. Milan Fretin finished second, Matteo Moschetti third. Fabio Jakobsen was also in the front group but couldn't contest the sprint. His Picnic PostNL teammate Timo de Jong made a late attack but just fell short.
The Spanish season has already started, and so early in the 2026 cycling year, the AlUla Tour marks the first stage race in the Middle East on the calendar. The race through Saudi Arabia kicked off today with the first sprint showdown. At least, that was the expectation, as the opening stage, starting and finishing at the AlUla Camel Cup Track, featured few significant obstacles.
Exotic breakaway
So the battle was expected between fast men like Jonathan Milan (the top favorite), Fabio Jakobsen, Matteo Malucelli, Matteo Moschetti, Pascal Ackermann, Milan Fretin, and Fernando Gaviria. However, four riders made every effort to avoid a sprint finish. Their names? Muhammad Nur Aiman Bin Rosli, Ali Al Shaikhahmed, Said Alrahbi, and Mohammed Al-Wahibi.
These four "exotic" riders built up a lead of around four minutes but never posed a real threat for the win. The peloton—led by the riders from Lidl-Trek—kept everything under control, so it was a matter of waiting for the regrouping. That happened quite early, over sixty kilometers from the finish.
Wind causes crashes and echelons
Afterwards, the riders prepared for the expected bunch sprint, although the tricky crosswinds caused a lot of nervousness and, unfortunately, crashes as well. In the first crash, Frits Biesterbos was the main victim. The Dutch ex-mountain biker—making his pro debut in the AlUla Tour for Picnic PostNL—slid at high speed into a gravel trap but was eventually able to continue.
Biesterbos’s hard spill was unfortunately not the only time the peloton was shaken by a crash. Over forty kilometers from the finish, multiple riders went down again, including Jan Christen, one of the top favorites for the overall victory. The Swiss talent was quickly back on his bike, but at that moment, the peloton split into multiple echelons.
Christen crashes again
Led by Lidl-Trek, an elite group of eighteen riders remained at the front, including fast men like Milan, Fabio Jakobsen, Matteo Moschetti, Phil Bauhaus, Milan Fretin, and Fernando Gaviria. The gap to the second group quickly grew to over half a minute. Meanwhile, Christen rejoined the chasing peloton but crashed once again shortly afterward. He was badly battered but, helped by UAE Emirates XRG teammates, resumed the chase once more.
At the start of the final local lap of 8.6 kilometers, the gap between the first two groups was 34 seconds. When the pace up front threatened to stall, Jakobsen’s teammate and countryman Timo de Jong launched an attack. His move was short-lived, as the speed ramped up again behind him. That was necessary because the peloton, driven by Bahrain Victorious, suddenly closed in dangerously. Would we see a full regrouping in the final kilometers after all?
De Jong’s attack, Milan’s sprint victory
No, it turned out not to be the case. The lead group stayed away, but that did not necessarily mean the sprinters would prevail. At least, that’s what Timo de Jong thought. The Zeeland rider tried a breakaway in the final kilometer. He opened a nice gap, but thanks to sprint preparation by Lidl-Trek and Cofidis, he was caught. Jonathan Milan then sealed the win in the sprint, beating Fretin and Moschetti.
