"Hopefully it’s nothing too serious" - Mixed day on stage 1 of AlUla Tour 2025 for UAE as Rafal Majka crashes hard and Juan Sebastian Molano misses out on victory

Tim Merlier emerged victorious in a frantic bunch sprint finale on stage 1 of the 2025 AlUla Tour on Tuesday afternoon. For UAE Team Emirates - XRG though, it was a bit more of a mixed day as Juan Sebastian Molano finished 2nd, whilst GC hopeful Rafal Majka crashed hard in the finale.

In fact, Majka wasn't the only UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider to go down in the crash towards the end of the stage. "On the final run-in there was a crash inside -5km involving several riders including Rafal Majka and Adria Pericas who both came down," explains the team in a post-stage press release on their official website. "Majka was the worse-off of the pair with an impact to his ribs and some abrasions to his right knee. Both riders finished the stage and are expected to be okay for tomorrow’s stage 2 from AlUla Old Town to Bir Jaydah Mountain Wirkah."

As for Molano himself, the Colombian sees positives in a 2nd place on just his second race day of the 2025 season. "It was a very fast finish. I knew Merlier would be the man the watch and I managed to get on his wheel on the final straight," Molano assesses. "He was very strong today and I couldn’t get around him. I’m satisfied with the result although I’m eager and hungry to get the first win of the season on the board. Overall I’m happy with my shape and I’ll be looking for more opportunities this week. We had a couple of our guys caught up in a crash at the end but hopefully it’s nothing too serious and we’ll live to fight another day.”