The world turned upside down: UAE's new prodigy wants to gain weight to become the Swiss Pogacar

The number of potential round winners at UAE Team Emirates is multiplying rapidly. If your name is João Almeida or Adam Yates, you are hardly good enough to compete for overall victory in 2024. Juan Ayuso is considering a plan to align with Tadej Pogacar. In the next generation, alongside Isaac Del Toro and Spanish favorite Pablo Torres, Jan Christen is ready to shine. Sporza spoke with the latter, who on Wednesday extended his contract until the end of 2030.

Christen is only 20 years old, a top talent who transferred to UAE Team Emirates from Hagens Berman Axeon in mid-2023. He committed there until the end of 2028, which already speaks volumes about his qualities. The fact that his contract is now being extended for two more years says even more. "Jan is a great talent, and we believe he has the right attitude and qualities to continue progressing with us. He already showed in his first year that he can win and is a team player. That is also very important for us," said team boss Mauro Gianetti.

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Jan Christen

Christen will be allowed to race more in WorldTour

In 2024, he was still riding on the second row in terms of program, but wins in the Giro dell'Appennino and Prueba Villafranca-Ordiziako Klasika and a stage win in the Tour of Abruzzo did emphasize his potential. "That my progression would be so swift? I expected that," Christen says bluntly. There is no lack of self-confidence when his big dreams are brought up. "I dream of competing like Tadej Pogacar for wins in big tours and classics. He is a super good friend and a charming person on and off the bike. I learn a lot from him."

On that note, in 2025, Christen will already have a program to be proud of. He is diving fully into the WorldTour, with Paris-Nice, Catalonia, the Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne, Romandie, and the Vuelta a España on his list. "Like Tadej, I would like to succeed in grand tours and classics in the future. However, we will mainly focus on my development as a rider in the first few years. In the one-week races, I would like to have the chance to go for a GC. But, of course, that depends on my form and teammates."

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A "little Pogacar" or a "big Christen"?

The Tour of Spain is on his schedule for 2025 to give him a taste of the real work. A tour that Pogacar will also normally compete in, but that doesn't matter much to Christen. "For the team, the goal is to win the Vuelta anyway. Personally, I want to win at least one stage." Or, as sports director Joxean Matxin puts it, "Like Pogacar, Ayuso, and Del Toro, I want him to get a taste of his first grand tour in the Vuelta in 2025. To try to win a stage. Is Christen a little Pogacar? No, he's a big Jan Christen. I don't like to compare riders with each other. But Christen does have a lot of potential."

The Swiss himself knows that. He seems to have everything to become great with excellent climbing legs, a good time trial, and an eye for the course. A new Pogacar? "In Switzerland, they are not yet saying I will win the Tour. But they are starting to become more familiar with me and know that in time, I can compete in grand tours," said Christen, who has stopped talking about losing weight and being lightweight. On the contrary: "I want more muscle mass and to weigh around 63 to 64 kilograms. That way, I will have more strength on climbs. Tadej, at 69 kilograms, is also a bizarre climber. So you no longer have to be super skinny to climb fast."

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