{"id":351271,"date":"2025-12-16T07:52:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T07:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/351271\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T07:52:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T07:52:07","slug":"uaes-unheralded-workhorse-secures-future-with-one-year-contract-extension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/351271\/","title":{"rendered":"UAE\u2019s unheralded workhorse secures future with one-year contract extension"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a transfer market squeezed by mergers, closures and relegations, simply holding a WorldTour seat has become an achievement. Julius Johansen<\/a> has done just that, earning a new one-year contract with UAE Team Emirates – XRG<\/a> after a season spent almost entirely in service of the team\u2019s leaders.<\/p>\n

Promoted from Continental level ahead of 2025, Johansen\u2019s role was clearly defined. He was tasked with controlling races and absorbing workload so others could fight for victories. That responsibility translated into 93 race days across 13 countries, more than any other rider in the professional peloton.<\/p>\n

The reward brought continuity rather than long-term security.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cOf course I would have liked it to be longer than one year,\u201d Johansen said in conversation with Feltet at UAE Team Emirates\u2019 media day.<\/a> \u201cBut in cycling it has been such a tough year for contracts that I didn\u2019t really have much to negotiate with. I was just happy to be riding for UAE.\u201dLiving with short-term pressure<\/p>\n

A one-year deal inevitably carries risk, especially in a sport where crashes can reshape careers overnight.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course you always carry some kind of fear,\u201d Johansen admitted. \u201cWhat if I crash badly and break something that puts me out for half a year? Then it can look difficult when you only have a one year contract.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, his focus is simple. \u201cI\u2019m just incredibly happy to be where I am. I\u2019m in a place where I can perform myself. I know that all it takes is that I ride fast. Then I\u2019ll get a contract again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strength over spotlight<\/p>\n

Johansen\u2019s workload limited his own opportunities, with a second place at the Vuelta Asturias standing out among otherwise scarce personal results.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no doubt they\u2019ve been super happy with what I do,\u201d he said. \u201cBut of course they also want riders who win races. I just need to be as strong as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

UAE\u2019s expectations remain unchanged heading into 2026. \u201cThe most important thing for me is to be at 95 percent throughout the whole season rather than 100 percent at a specific moment,\u201d Johansen explained. \u201cBecause my role is to be ready if something happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

For one of the peloton\u2019s quietest workhorses, reliability remains his strongest currency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a transfer market squeezed by mergers, closures and relegations, simply holding a WorldTour seat has become an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":351272,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,193260,85,19805],"class_list":{"0":"post-351271","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-julius-johansen","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-uae-team-emirates-xrg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=351271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/351272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=351271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=351271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=351271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}