The UAE’s new star wants to put on weight to become the Swiss Pogacar. “The world turned upside down.”

UAE Team Emirates is quickly adding more and more people who could win rounds. It’s not likely that someone named João Almeida or Adam Yates will win the whole thing in 2024. A plan to work together with Tadej Pogacar is being thought about by Juan Ayuso. Jan Christen is ready to shine in the next generation, along with Isaac Del Toro and Pablo Torres, who is a big star in Spain. The second person talked to Sporza and on Wednesday extended his deal until the end of 2030.

Christen is a very talented young man who moved from Hagens Berman Axeon to UAE Team Emirates in the middle of 2023. He is only 20 years old. He promised to stay there until the end of 2028, which says a lot about his character. He is getting two more years on his deal, which says even more. “Jan is very talented, and we think he has the right attitude and traits to keep moving forward with us.” In his first year, he proved that he can win and work well with others. “That’s also very important to us,” Mauro Gianetti, the team’s manager, said.

In the WorldTour, Christen will be able to ride more.

Even though he wasn’t in the top three in 2024, wins in the Giro dell’Appennino, the Prueba Villafranca-Ordiziako Klasika, and a stage of the Tour of Abruzzo did show how good he could be. “That I would make such quick progress? “That’s what I expected,” Christen says straight out. He is very sure of himself when his big dreams are brought up. “My dream is to win big tours and classics races like Tadej Pogacar.” He’s a great friend and a nice guy in and out of the bike. He teaches me a lot.

That being said, Christen will already have a program she can be proud of by 2025. He is really getting into the WorldTour. On his list are Paris-Nice, Catalonia, the Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne, Romandie, and the Vuelta a España. “Like Tadej, I want to do well in grand tours and classics in the future.” But for the first few years, we will mostly be focused on my growth as a rider. I’d like to be able to go for a GC in the one-week races. That will depend on my form and my friends, though.

A “little Pogacar” versus a “big Christen” ?

In 2025, he plans to ride in the Tour of Spain to get a feel for the real work. Christen isn’t very interested in the fact that Pogacar will also be competing in this trip. “The team’s goal is still to win the Vuelta. “For my part, I want to win at least one stage.” Another way to say it is this: “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 get a stage. Does Christen look like a little Pogacar? He really likes Jan Christen. It bothers me when people compare riders. Yet Christen does show a lot of promise.

The Swiss know that for sure. He is good at time trials, climbs well, and knows how to ride the course, so he seems to have everything he needs to be great. A brand-new Pogacar? “People in Switzerland still don’t think I’ll win the Tour. “But they are getting to know me better and know that I will be able to compete in grand tours in due time,” Christen said. “I have stopped talking about losing weight and being skinny.” Instead, “I want to gain muscle mass and get to a weight of 63 to 64 kilograms.” That will help me get stronger on climbs. Along with being weird, Tadej is also a weird climber. Now you don’t have to be very skinny to climb quickly.