Jan Christen turns out to be no Isaac del Toro (yet) — UAE with new dilemma at the Giro

UAE Team Emirates-XRG's general classification ambitions at the Giro d'Italia were definitively extinguished in stage seven. The team from the Emirates had already lost their first two options — Adam Yates and Jay Vine — in the brutal stage two crash. Added to that list was Jan Christen, dropped from the group of favourites on the unforgiving slopes of Blockhaus.

Somewhere, UAE had perhaps harboured the hope that Christen might be able to play an Isaac del Toro role at this Giro. Last year, too, their two leaders fell out of the race — Yates and Juan Ayuso — before the Mexican youngster stepped into the breach, wore the pink jersey, and was in contention for overall victory right up until the penultimate day. Del Toro ultimately finished second in 2025.

Christen arrived at this Giro already at a disadvantage. He crashed at Milan-San Remo and was forced to head to Italy having done only training work — no racing — as he recovered from a broken collarbone. It came together, because before the start of the Giro, Christen told IDL Pro Cycling he was feeling good legs.

The 21-year-old Swiss rider wore the white young rider's jersey in the opening days and briefly allowed himself to dream of pink. That was precisely why, before the start of stage six, he let it be known at the mixed zone that his focus had shifted beyond simply chasing stage wins. "I'm going to try to stay with the best on Blockhaus, and if that doesn't work out, the focus can always go back to attacking."

Speaking to IDL Pro Cycling before stage seven, Christen's UAE teammate Mikkel Bjerg was cautiously optimistic. "He is strong and clearly has good legs. Jan will try to go with the best up the climb — but if that doesn't work, there is absolutely no pressure on him from our side to perform. That's actually good for him, he can just go and find out."

A del Toro scenario? Bjerg — who was not at last year's Giro — was honest about the comparison. "I genuinely don't know. With Jonas [Vingegaard] in the race, it's going to be a lot harder than it was for Isaac to take the pink jersey — but I do think Jan has a good chance of a solid result. He'll just have to try every day, whether that's for the GC or a stage win."

In stage seven on Blockhaus, Christen was in fact among the first riders to be dropped from the group of favourites. And with that, after a week of hope and quiet dreaming, a line had to be drawn under ambitions that perhaps were never entirely realistic. Since Christen joined UAE in 2024, he has rarely ridden well in stage races for the overall classification.

Last year he finished fourth in the Tour of Poland, and this year he won the AlUla Tour — but perhaps Christen will prove far more valuable at this Giro on the attack. He is (not yet) a del Toro, but at a respectable distance from the GC men, he could become a very important factor for UAE in weeks two and three — in the fight for stage wins.