Jonathan Milan and Tim Merlier will start their 2026 seasons on the same straight roads and the same exposed desert crosswinds, with the AlUla Tour (27-31 January) offering three likely sprint finishes and a late general classification showdown that has tended to reward the rider who best balances patience with precision.
The sixth edition of the race arrives with a significant administrative change too. For the first time, AlUla moves into the UCI ProSeries, a shift that is already reflected in the start list, with WorldTour depth rising and the race’s early-season outcomes carrying more weight in how teams frame their opening months.
ProSeries status brings sharper sprint focus and deeper teams
The promotion from its previous level is more than a label. It is a signal to teams that AlUla is no longer simply a sunny February runout, but an event with enough ranking value to justify stronger line-ups and more deliberate objectives.
That context helps explain why Lidl-Trek arrives for the first time, bringing back Milan, while Soudal Quick-Step return with Merlier, a rider who has made this race his own in Milan’s absence over the past two seasons.
Milan vs Merlier, a rivalry built on different sprint shapes
The headline duel is simple. Milan and Merlier were the standout sprinters of the 2025 Tour de France, each taking two stages, and both arrive in Saudi Arabia with a clear understanding of what the AlUla Tour offers.
Jonathan Milan, returning with unfinished business and a richer engine
Milan’s story here has a memory attached to it. He vividly recalls winning at Shalal Sijlyat Rocks, a success that, at the time, sat early in his palmarès. Since then, he has grown into a sprinter who can dominate points competitions as well as finish stages, and the race’s three sprint opportunities suit a rider who thrives on repeatability rather than a single perfect day.
Tim Merlier, two visits, four wins
Merlier’s claim is even cleaner. In 2024 and 2025, with Milan not on the start line, he treated AlUla as a reliable hunting ground, taking two stage wins in each of his two appearances. That record matters in a five-day race. A sprinter who can bank time bonuses and accumulate confidence quickly forces other fast men to chase the race from day one.
Three sprint stages, but the GC still points to the last two days
AlUla remains a sprinters’ favourite because the parcours consistently offers three realistic bunch finishes. This year’s likely sprint venues are all places where the major names already have history:
- Stage 1: Camel Cup Track
- Stage 2: AlManshiyah Train Station
- Stage 4: Shalal Sijlyat Rocks
Milan and Merlier are expected to headline those finishes, but they will not be alone. Matteo Moschetti, winner of last year’s final stage at the Camel Cup Track, returns, while Arvid de Kleijn has already shown he can live with the very top tier here. Riders such as Matteo Malucelli, Daniel Skerl, Iúri Leitão, Jason Tesson and Milan Fretin add further depth to the fast-man list.
The overall, though, is still likely to be decided where it usually is, on climbing finishes that are steep enough to create time gaps but short enough to reward explosive riders.
Bir Jaydah Mountain Wirkah has been redesigned for 2026
The first key GC moment comes on Stage 3, finishing at Bir Jaydah Mountain Wirkah, where last year’s winner Tom Pidcock laid down the marker.
This time, the finale has been reworked:
- no finishing circuit
- approached from the opposite direction
- a 4.9 km climb averaging 5.1%
- the final two kilometres steady at around 7%
It is a finish that invites riders who can punch hard late, but it also rewards teams that can manage positioning and tempo into the base of the climb. In a desert race, it is also a stage where crosswinds earlier in the day can quietly decide who arrives at the foot of the ascent in contention.
The decisive test remains Skyviews of Harrat Uwayrid
The final day, finishing at the Skyviews of Harrat Uwayrid, is still expected to be the queen stage and the race decider. Recent editions have followed a clear pattern: the rider who wins that stage often wins the overall, with the finish repeatedly producing both the stage and GC winner.
That makes the structure of the week unusually honest. Sprinters can take wins and jerseys early, but the overall tends to be settled when the road tilts up on the final afternoon.
The Pidcock succession, and the riders positioned to shape it
Pidcock arrives in the background of this edition as the reigning champion, with AlUla still his only stage race victory to date. Whether or not he is on the start line, the race he won has become a reference point for the kind of rider AlUla rewards.
Among the names highlighted as potential protagonists:
- Eddie Dunbar returns with experience of how quickly this race can unravel in crosswinds, leading the defending champion’s team, Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
- Team Jayco-AlUla fields an aggressive pairing in Paul Double and Alan Hatherly, with Double coming off a season that included a major stage-race win and Hatherly continuing a rapid transition from mountain biking to the road after finishing sixth overall here last year
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Pauline BalletA start list that mixes established leaders with the next wave
AlUla has also leaned into the presence of young riders who no longer treat early-season stage races as protected learning environments. Several names to watch are framed as modern talents capable of disrupting a predictable hierarchy:
- Jakob Omrzel (19), Giro Next Gen winner, starting a new chapter at Bahrain Victorious
- Jan Christen (21) and Igor Arrieta (23) at UAE Team Emirates-XRG
- Nicolas Vinokourov (23) continuing his progression at XDS Astana Team
- Jaume Guardeño (22) emerging as a climbing prospect at Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
It is the kind of list that can change the feel of a five-day race. If the crosswinds split things early, or if Stage 3 is raced harder than expected, youth can become a weapon rather than a risk.
Stages: AlUla Tour 2026
- Stage 1, 27/01: AlUla Camel Cup Track – AlUla Camel Cup Track, 158 km
- Stage 2, 28/01: AlManshiyah Train Station – AlManshiyah Train Station, 152 km
- Stage 3, 29/01: Winter Park – Bir Jaydah Mountain Wirkah, 142.1 km
- Stage 4, 30/01: Winter Park – Shalal Sijlyat Rocks, 184 km
- Stage 5, 31/01: AlUla Old Town – Skyviews of Harrat Uwayrid, 163.9 km
Teams confirmed
WorldTour
- Bahrain Victorious
- Lidl-Trek
- Team Jayco-AlUla
- UAE Team Emirates-XRG
- Soudal Quick-Step
- Team Picnic-PostNL
- XDS Astana Team
ProTeams
- Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
- Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
- TotalEnergies
- Tudor Pro Cycling Team
- Cofidis
- Modern Aventure Pro Cycling
Continental and national teams
- Terengganu Cycling Team
- Team Ukyo
- Saudi national team
- Oman national team
What the race is likely to reveal
The sprint narrative is obvious, and it is compelling. Milan and Merlier have enough shared reference points now that every head-to-head finish carries meaning.
But AlUla’s ProSeries upgrade has quietly pulled the race towards something else too: a sharper GC contest, decided late, where the margin for error in wind and positioning is smaller than a five-day race suggests. In that mix, the sprinters will still headline the photos, but the overall will belong to the rider who keeps their week intact until Harrat Uwayrid asks the final question.
Main photo credit: A.S.O./Pauline Ballet
