Jan Christen still wants a breakthrough ride at the Giro — 'I know the potential is there'

UAE Emirates-XRG have had no shortage of success at this Giro d'Italia, but after three stage wins for Jhonatan Narváez and one for Igor Arrieta, the team is even openly saying it still hopes for one more: for Jan Christen. The 21-year-old Swiss is riding his first Grand Tour, and so far it has not gone his way. IDL Pro Cycling spoke to Christen — because stage 16 on Tuesday could be his day.

"Not that long actually, although it is of course a nice thing to be finishing in Switzerland. I am looking forward to it."

"As a team, we try to go for a different rider every day, but with only five riders left it is hard to control things. I tried really hard in stage 11 and the team hoped I would make it into the right break, but I couldn't get into the right move. It would be great if it works out towards Switzerland, but we will see."

"I think I can definitely learn something from Jhonny, though I have to say it is a different situation for him right now. He has already won three stages and can go into every day with that confidence. I have to be ready for every attack, while he can maybe play his cards a bit more. That was also the key in stage 11 — Jhonatan was there at the crucial moment. I wasted a lot of energy."

"Let's see — I know I have the potential to do great things, and the team knows that too. You also need to get used to these races, so maybe we should revisit that in one or two years. For now, with the team we are only going for stage wins, while I also hope to come through the Giro well, ahead of the second part of my season."

"That depends a bit on how I develop as a rider in the coming years, but I would love that, yes. The main goal for this year is still the one-day races, and that will probably still be the case next year too."