Jan Christen: 2026 team, palmarès and profile

Team (2026): UAE Team Emirates XRG
Nationality: Switzerland
Born: 26 June 2004, Gippingen (Leuggern), Switzerland
Profile: Puncheur and stage-race rider, former cyclo-cross and mountain bike junior
Pro since: 2023
Previous teams: Pogi Team (junior) (2022), Hagens Berman Axeon (2023 (until 31 July))

Facts checked on 20 October 2026. Every fact has a source, listed at the bottom of this page.

2026 season

31 January 2026AlUla Tour1st overall, winner of stage 5 and of the young rider classification Source
22 February 2026Vuelta a Andalucía4th overall, 1st young rider classification Source
28 February 2026Faun-Ardèche Classic2nd Source
7 March 2026Strade Bianche6th Source
31 May 2026Giro d'Italia59th overall (wore the white jersey after stage 4) Source
25 June 2026Swiss National Championships, time trial1st Source
28 June 2026Swiss National Championships, road race1st Source
1 August 2026Clásica de San Sebastián7th Source
7 August 2026Tour de Pologne, stage 5 (Opole – Kocierz Resort)1st Source
9 August 2026Tour de Pologne6th overall Source

Palmarès

2022UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, junior race (Fayetteville)1st Source
2022UEC European Road Championships, junior road race (Anadia)1st Source
2024Giro dell'Appennino1st Source
2024UCI Road World Championships, under-23 time trial (Zurich)3rd Source
2025Clásica de San Sebastián2nd Source
2025Tour de Pologne4th overall Source
2026AlUla Tour1st overall (also stage 5 and young rider classification) Source
2026Swiss National Championships1st in the road race and 1st in the time trial Source
2026Tour de Pologne, stage 51st (6th overall) Source

Biography

Jan Christen is a Swiss cyclist, born on 26 June 2004 in Gippingen, a village in the municipality of Leuggern in Aargau. His team lists him at 1.83 m and 60 kg. His older brother Fabio Christen is also a professional cyclist. He has ridden for UAE Team Emirates since August 2023, and the team’s official roster confirms him for 2026.

As a junior, Christen raced in three disciplines. In 2022 he became junior world cyclo-cross champion in Fayetteville, in the United States, took silver in the junior cross-country race at the mountain bike World Championships in Les Gets and won the junior road race at the European Championships in Anadia. In May 2022, UAE Team Emirates signed him, then 17, on a five-year contract. He spent the first half of 2023 with the development team Hagens Berman Axeon, winning a stage of the Giro Next Gen, before joining the WorldTeam on 1 August 2023.

In 2024, his first full season, he won the Giro dell’Appennino, the Prueba Villafranca de Ordizia and a stage of the Giro d’Abruzzo. He was second at Milano–Torino and took bronze in the under-23 time trial at the World Championships in Zurich. In December 2024 the team announced a new contract that keeps him at UAE until 2030. In 2025 he won the Trofeo Calvià and a stage of the Volta ao Algarve, finished second at the Clásica de San Sebastián, third overall at the Tour of Norway and fourth overall at the Tour de Pologne. He also won bronze with Switzerland in the mixed team relay at the World Championships in Kigali.

In 2026 he won the AlUla Tour in January, including the final stage and the young rider classification. He was fourth overall at the Vuelta a Andalucía, second at the Faun-Ardèche Classic and sixth at Strade Bianche. At the Giro d’Italia he wore the white jersey of best young rider after stage 4 and finished 59th overall. In late June he won both Swiss elite titles, the time trial on 25 June and the road race on 28 June. In August he was seventh at the Clásica de San Sebastián, then won stage 5 of the Tour de Pologne and finished sixth overall.