How AlUla is using sport to shape its global identity

This week, the world’s leading professional cyclists will descend on northwest Saudi Arabia as the AlUla Tour returns for its seventh edition. Establishing itself as a regular fixture in cycling’s early-season calendar, the race attracts WorldTour riders and teams looking to test form and build momentum.

For Team Jayco AlUla, the race carries added significance. The Australian WorldTour team has partnered with AlUla for several seasons, racing under the region’s name across the global calendar and competing each January in what the team treats as a home event.

The partnership follows a model established elsewhere in the sport, with destinations such as the UAE and Bahrain among those to have used cycling teams to build long-term international visibility.

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“Working together over a number of years, you get to know each other better and synchronize your values and goals,” Brent Copeland, Team Jayco AlUla’s general manager, explained to Al Arabiya English.

“AlUla’s goal is to showcase their beautiful region to the world, and cycling allows us to do that across every continent. We race more than 400 days a year, and that visibility is what the partnership is built around. It has been a fantastic journey that we have been on together.”

In AlUla’s case, recognition has been reinforced by Team Jayco AlUla’s consistent presence at the top end of the sport across recent seasons. Stage wins at the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España have kept the team in the sport’s most-watched moments.

Sprint success through riders such as Dylan Groenewegen and Luka Mezgec, alongside stage-hunting performances from climbers including Simon Yates, has delivered repeated exposure across the calendar.

That calendar includes the AlUla Tour, which is part of a small group of winter races that anchor the Gulf’s presence in cycling – alongside the UAE Tour, the region’s only WorldTour-level event, and the well-regarded Tour of Oman.

Saudi Arabia’s race is newer by comparison, but its recently designated UCI ProSeries status has elevated its sporting relevance, giving teams a meaningful opportunity to test riders and collect points ahead of the European season.

The AlUla Tour has become the Kingdom’s primary international road race and a fixed reference point for regional cycling, with the setting a defining feature of the race as riders take on open desert roads and pass the region’s iconic rock formations.

That connection between landscape and competition is deliberate according to Ziad Alsuhaibani, Chief Sport Officer at the Royal Commission for AlUla.

“We always prioritize events that are intrinsically linked to AlUla, where the landscape and setting are central to the experience,” Alsuhaibani explained to Al Arabiya. “We are not interested in concepts that could be staged anywhere.”

For Team Jayco AlUla, it means that having the AlUla Tour as a home race is a genuine source of pride.

“This is obviously a hugely important race for us,” Copeland explains. “Not just because we are in a partnership with AlUla, but because it shows the world that cycling is more and more international.

“To have a race in Saudi Arabia is absolutely fantastic and to have it in AlUla too, which is one of the most spectacular places in the world, is a fantastic opportunity for everyone. The racing is always good, the weather is good and everyone is always treated really well.

“It is our home race and we always arrive with the goal of delivering the best result possible. The level of competition has increased, and we have put together a team that we believe can challenge.”

For Team Jayco AlUla, preparation for the race is deliberate. The line-up is selected to reflect the terrain and the level of competition, with the aim of delivering a strong performance on home ground.

Among those riders competing in the 2026 race is Slovenian sprinter Luka Mezgec, who views the AlUla Tour as an important marker at the start of the season.

“Our climbers are in good shape, and it will be interesting to see how the sprints go,” Mezgec says. “There will be strong teams there. For us, a podium in the general classification and a stage win would be a great outcome. That’s the goal and obviously going to AlUla – for the team, it's a big race.”

Cycling is the clearest global entry point to a sporting story in AlUla that goes beyond the Tour. The region’s sporting portfolio has been expanding in recent years and also includes a football club in the Saudi First Division and a team competing in the worldwide electric powerboat series E1, co-owned by NBA legend LeBron James.

On the ground in AlUla, an annual Desert Polo event has established itself as a regular fixture in the winter calendar, drawing elite international players and spectators each January. The AlFursan Endurance Cup similarly taps into Saudi Arabia’s rich equestrian tradition – offering long-distance racing across the region’s desert terrain.

Rather than building a crowded calendar, the focus has been on what fits best for AlUla.

“Whether it’s cycling, running, equestrian sport or polo, every event is shaped so the destination is part of the competition’s character, not just the backdrop,” RCU Chief Sport Officer Alsuhaibani said.

“As the calendar grows, we stay selective. We focus on quality over volume and make sure each event still feels like AlUla.”

Participation events, too, are on the rise. The AlUla Trail Race takes runners through technical routes and breathtaking scenery while, each October, the AlUla Wellness Festival offers a diverse program of events that includes cycling and running challenges, as well as yoga classes delivered by world-class teachers and practitioners.

AlUla has invested in programs that bring residents into the calendar as athletes, volunteers and organizers, building familiarity and long-term engagement.

“Last year, nearly half of AlUla’s community took part in at least one sports program we delivered,” Alsuhaibani says. “Engagement grows fastest when sport is accessible and part of daily life.”

While sport, at both the elite and amateur level, is increasingly finding a home in AlUla, the goal is to keep the calendar focused and distinctive rather than expansive.

“The ambition isn’t scale alone,” Alsuhaibani adds. “It’s a balanced calendar that feels original, authentic, and rooted in AlUla’s terrain.”

Read more: Which sporting events is Saudi Arabia hosting in 2026?