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Jay Vine: If I don't win another race from now on, I'd still be happy

Australian reflects on his 10-year plan, the importance of job security at UAE Team Emirates and his goals for 2024

George Poole

Junior writer.

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Jay Vine has five professional wins to his name, including a prized victory at the Tour Down Under

Speaking on the eve of his fourth season as a professional cyclist, Jay Vine is a rider with an eye on the future. In fact, he has already pencilled in his retirement date - 2030, should you want to know - but he is also a man with no pretences about him.

As such, he is quick to appraise and honest to a fault when reflecting on his first few years as a pro, as well as clear about his plans for the future.

There is a 10-year plan for Vine: "Once I have got that 2030 contract, then it's feet up and retiring," he says - only half in jest.

"The goal is 10 years and then back to Australia. But obviously, there's a long time between now and then," he adds when speaking to GCN at UAE Team Emirates ' training camp in La Nucia, Spain.

There are specific goals between now and 2030 for the Australian, but time and time again he returns to what he deems a "modest goal" of getting to 10 years in the professional peloton. Unlike some of the other winners in the pro ranks, victories are not the be-all and end-all for Vine. Rather, he has his eyes set on a career well spent in preparation for the years to come as a family man, living back in his homeland.

"At the end of the day, if I don't win another race from now on, I'd be happy because I've got personal family goals in mind as well."

Never shy in answering a question with complete transparency, Vine offers an insight into his familial future when we ask what those personal goals may be.

"To have as many kids as my wife will let me!" he exclaims, with a smile. "At the end of the day, family is a big thing for me, I haven't got one yet. And at the end of the day when you're on your deathbed, that Tour Down Under plate that I’ve got isn't going to comfort me. It's going to be the future generation."

Read more: Homesickness, solo parenting and changed perspectives - the experience of fatherhood as a professional cyclist

As Vine mentions, 2023 yielded a home victory in the Tour Down Under for the man from Queensland. Other high points were few and far between in a year marked by illness, injury and misfortune, but as Vine remarks, he has achieved two of his career goals this season.

The first was, unsurprisingly, to win the Tour Down Under, which he achieved in his first stage race as a UAE Team Emirates rider back in January. The second was to wear the green and gold colours of Australia whilst racing in Europe, an honour that Vine was able to tick off having won the Australian National Championships time trial , also at the beginning of the year.

Jay Vine and his wife Bre are all smiles at the Tour Down Under, though Vine knows that his family will far outweigh any personal accomplishments in 50 years' time

Elsewhere, highlights were hard to pinpoint in a season that Vine would rather forget at times. A knee injury sustained at the UAE Tour marred his preparation for the Giro d'Italia , which saw him come down with illness anyway, whilst crashes took him out of both the Tour de Suisse and Vuelta a España later in the season.

However, after last winter was spent in his homeland, 2023 has seen Vine and his wife Bre find their feet as settled citizens of Andorra, where many of the peloton's biggest talents like to reside. Some Australians struggle to make their peace with living halfway across the world in service to their career, but for Vine, the move has been nothing but positive.

"I don't have anything in Australia, so there's no real rush for me to go back every year," he says. "I don't expect, with family commitments later down the track, to be galavanting around Europe in my 40s. So I'm trying to live it up in Europe as much as possible. I'll do my Australian thing when I'm retired. But right now I just want to focus on Europe."

This no-nonsense approach to work mirrors that of Vine's father, who moved Jay's four younger siblings to Canberra during their childhood. At the time, his father was a pilot and Vine actually stayed behind in Queensland to finish his studies.

Nowadays, the 28-year-old finds himself settled not just because of the support of his wife, but also as a result of the faith that UAE Team Emirates have demonstrated in him.

"Probably the highlight [of 2023] is I've got four more years on this team, you know, so at the end of 2027, that puts me seven years into my 10-year goal," Vine notes. "That's one of the good things about this season, you know, then I’ve fully settled in Andorra and I’m building my career."

Vine grateful for job security in light of failed Jumbo-Quick Step merger

Vine's first two seasons as a professional came with Alpecin-Fenix (now Alpecin-Deceuninck), having memorably won the Zwift Academy in 2020, and after an impressive start to life in the peloton, the Australian earned a move to UAE Team Emirates for 2023 on an initial two-year contact.

• Pro indoor training tips from Zwift Academy winner Alex Bogna

But rather surprisingly, only five months into this 24-month deal, Vine was offered, and signed, a brand-new deal which now runs until 2027. The Australian is under no illusion that he enjoys a luxury not afforded to most of the peloton: long-term, secure employment.

"I've got pretty damn good job security. At the end of the day, any of these teams can fall over tomorrow," he notes. "As we saw with [Soudal] Quick-Step, that team could have disappeared, [Mikel] Landa had just signed a contract and then two months later, they could be gone. So I've probably got the best job security that you can hope for in the sport."

Jay Vine rode the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España for UAE Team Emirates in 2023, but could not show his true self in either

Vine is making reference to the well-documented merger saga that embroiled Jumbo-Visma and Soudal Quick-Step just a couple of months ago. In the end, Quick-Step's future remains as a team in their own right and Jumbo-Visma will become Visma-Lease a Bike for the foreseeable, but Vine does not hesitate in calling the situation "bizarre," to say the least.

"[It was] more of a ‘how is this even possible? How is this legal?’. In any other industry, there'd be inquiries and insurance companies would be getting called. That's the sport and that's why you have got to invest as much as possible as early as possible."

• Read more: Jumbo-Visma and Soudal Quick-Step merger reportedly cancelled

Clearly a man with his eye on the ball when it comes to cycling's often precarious financial model - Vine also mentions the B&B Hotels fiasco which briefly left Mark Cavendish without a contract last winter - the Australian admits that it was not a hard decision to commit his future to UAE Team Emirates when an early contract extension came calling back in May.

"The other issue is [when] trying to hold out for the best deal possible, sometimes you get left with nothing," he says. "So I got the opportunity to take a four-year deal. Maybe if I hold out longer and longer, maybe it's a better package, but I was always that person when I watched Deal or No Deal or Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? , I was always like ‘Alright, that's enough, lock it in, take what you can get.’"

In hindsight, Vine probably penned his fresh terms at the perfect time, with the climber struggling for any spot of luck after his contract extension until his final race of the season, where he won stage 7 of the Tour of Türkiye.

© Sprint Cycling Agency

In taking the victory on stage 7, Jay Vine also sealed his win in the mountains classification in Turkey

Being part of the UAE Team Emirates not only brings its benefits in terms of their readiness to sign riders to long-term deals, but also in the professionalism that has delivered them the status of number one UCI WorldTeam.

The team operates at the very top of the sport and through the likes of Adam Yates, Tadej Pogačar and Vine himself, will be hoping to topple Visma-Lease a Bike in the Grand Tours through 2024.

• Read more: UAE Team Emirates and SD Worx top UCI world rankings

"There's definitely good money behind us and my job security is probably better than most because of the backing... But also, once you sort of know the routes that are going to be raced [in the Grand Tours], picking your riders and getting them prepared. We're very, I guess, progressive in that sense, in planning our seasons long-term," Vine says.

On that note, the Australian already has his targets for 2024 firmly earmarked: the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España.

'The Vuelta suits me best, I love racing in the heat,' says Vine

Both the Giro and Vuelta were on Vine's race programme for 2023, but as already noted, in neither race was he able to showcase his full abilities. Between the Tour Down Under and his late-season success in Turkey, Vine's 2023 was largely a write off in terms of being anything other than a willing teammate. As such, his goals for next year appear modest to begin with.

"I want to ride my bike without injuring myself, that's for starters, to do a full season," Vine says bluntly. "Hopefully I will be useful past the first week in a Grand Tour this year."

But there should be no doubt that with a solid winter of training under his belt, first in the south of Spain and then in his adopted home of Andorra through the New Year, Vine is capable of much more than simply making his way through the Grand Tours. In the Giro d'Italia, he will be one of Pogačar's most valuable climbing super domestiques, and in the Vuelta a España, the Australian should have the freedom to try his hand at a GC push.

• Read more: Vine eyes up the Vuelta a España, but first looks forward to supporting Pogačar at the Giro d'Italia

Vine was able to wear the yellow and gold of Australia as national champion during time trials this season

In naming their provisional teams for the Grand Tours whilst still in the winter months, UAE Team Emirates are certainly following the trend set by Jumbo-Visma in recent years. Of course, injury and alike could alter these plans in the months preceding each race, but for the moment, such long-term planning offers riders the assurance needed to appropriately tailor their winter training.

"There's no need to be on good form really until April," admits Vine. "Some other teams, they tell their riders two weeks before the Grand Tour. They're on a long list, there might be 15 riders on a long list for an eight-man squad.

"That's pretty terrible in my book. It’s the way they do it, but I wouldn't like to be part of that process."

At the Vuelta, Vine may team up with fellow teammates João Almeida and Pavel Sivakov , each in a bid to find their spot on the final podium, but unlike the latter, the Australian feels the Spanish Grand Tour suits him the best of the three-week stage races.

This is mainly because of Vine's preference for racing in scorching hot conditions, a trait that has been earned through "lots and lots of sauna", rather than as a result of his Aussie upbringing, as one might expect. Indeed, Vine has spent his professional career determined not to make the same mistake as he did as an amateur.

Vine is at his best when the sun is shining down on the peloton

"I went to the Philippines to do a [UCI] 2.2 race and paid my own way there," Vine says. "You don’t get paid as a continental rider in Australia, so I forked out a bunch of money to go to this race, and I was definitely not prepared because it was in wintertime Australia, summertime Philippines, and I suffered like a dog for four days.

"Ever since then, I realised ‘okay, just because you come from Australia doesn't mean you're going to be good in the heat.’ So it's been part of my training and work ethic ever since."

Vine dropped out of Le Tour de Filipinas back in 2019 on the final day, having learned a lesson that ultimately taught him a valuable lesson. A little over three years later, the sauna veteran won two stages of the Vuelta a España, outclimbing some of the best riders in the world in the process.

Next year, Vine will be back at the Vuelta and keen to make up for the misfortune of 2023. With the valuable support of his wife and the UAE Team Emirates organisation, who is to say that the Australian can't mount his first crack at a Grand Tour podium?

UAE Team Emirates

• Nationality United Arab Emirates
• Founded 2017
• Team Principal Mauro Gianetti
• UCI Code UAD
• Bike Sponsor Colnago

• Team UAE Team Emirates
• Nationality Australia
• Height 1.84m

Vuelta a España

• Dates 17 Aug - 8 Sept
• Race Length 3,248 kms
• Race Category Elite Men

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We better get familiar with watching Jay Vine win bike races

The Australian now leads the Vuelta's mountain classification

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No matter the sport, so many contracts are signed based off one umbrella term: potential.

An athlete might have good numbers or impressive skills, and might promise to become a star, but converting that talent and potential into something concrete and successful is a task that the majority fail to do.

Jay Vine knows all about this. Aged 25, the Australian was still knocking around his country's racing scene, impressing domestically but not quite doing enough to earn the professional contract that he so craved.

Then, ahead of the 2021 season, he signed up for Zwift Academy, and his power figures based off the virtual training platform earned him a contract with the ProTour team now known as Alpecin-Deceuninck.

Vine still had to show his worth: competing in WorldTour races is a challenge that only a very small pool of riders across the world are capable of doing.

In his first outing, the Tour of Turkey, his new team entrusted him as their leader. He had never even met his teammates before. He finished second.

Sixteen months later, Vine has just won his second stage of the Vuelta a España in three days, triumphing at the top of two savage climbs, displaying watts per kilo numbers that put him at the top table of cycling's current superstars. Figures that match those of Jonas Vingegaard, the recent winner of the Tour de France.

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It's not quite a fairytale story because that would imply that Vine has a lot of luck to reach this point; the opposite is true. Of course, he's had fortune, but Vine has worked damned hard for his glory. 

It is instead a wonderful tale of how perseverance, a little bit of luck, and immense talent has propelled Vine into the cycling spotlight.

His victory on stage eight of the Vuelta, atop a narrow, brutal goat track that goes by the name of Colláu Fancuaya, was so dominant that the breakaway riders he attacked have won 11 Grand Tour stages between them. 

They could nothing against Vine, though, just as the race's GC stars Remco Evenepoel and Enric Mas were unable to pass him on stage six .

Vine may be new on the scene, but he's emerging as one of the world's best climbers, the new favourite for the mountain's classification in this race that he now leads, and almost certainly destined to have a future as GC rider himself.

It's little wonder that he's about to treat himself to new a Corvette. "It is pretty incredible," he said in disbelief after his latest win, before quipping that so big was his time gap he was able to savour the final few metres and get a nice photo, something he was unable to do on Thursday because of the dense fog.

"The first one I was disappointed that I didn't get a photo, so I I had to come back and get that! Gianni [Vermeersch, teammate] wanted the bottle of champagne too, because that was lost in the bin [on stage six] so I had to go get that as well."

Vine's humour reflects a man comfortable in his surroundings. "The team fully backed me," he revealed. "Even before the Vuelta in my altitude camp, they had full faith in me.

"It's pretty incredible when you are on a team with [sprinter] Tim Merlier and you have the team meeting centred around getting you in the breakaway and trying to secure that as an option."

On an incredibly tough day out in the mountains of Asturias, Vine mopped up maximum points in the KoM classification and now has 40 points; Marc Soler, in second, is on 16. Vine's in pole position for a spot on the podium in Madrid.

"I was trying to balance getting points in the KoM as well as saving enough energy for the finish," he explained. "I think after the first two climbs I knew where I stood with the other guys in the break - they didn't really care about the KoM points so I was able to just mop those up as efficiently as possible."

For a man whose story is symbolic with home training, it's pleasing to read how much he enjoyed the terrain. "I really had fun racing my bike today," he smiled. "The descents were really fun," he added, sounding like an excited child.

"And then the flat sections with FDJ and [Mads] Pedersen pulling like trucks... it was fast! A really awesome day."

Watts per kilo chat may be boring cycling jargon, but it's a very clear measurement of a rider's capabilities. Vine is backing his numbers up with race-winning results on one of the biggest stages in the sport.

Vine's just arrived - but he here's to stay. What does the next chapter in this great story consist of?

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A freelance sports journalist and podcaster, you'll mostly find Chris's byline attached to news scoops, profile interviews and feature writing across a variety of different publications. He has been writing regularly for Cycling Weekly since 2013.

Previously a ski, hiking and cycling guide in a number of places, but mostly in the Canadian Rockies and Spanish Pyrenees, he almost certainly holds the record for the most number of interviews conducted from snowy mountains.

He lives in Valencia, Spain.

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Pogačar's Teammate Jay Vine Signs With Team UAE Through 2027

The promising rider will be supporting his superstar teammate while he develops as a champion himself.

Vine, who’s only in his first season with the team, said in a statement, “There’s no doubt in my mind, UAE is one of the best teams in the world, and to be able to extend my contract with them so soon after joining the team has been a big relief.”

The twenty-seven-year-old Vine first went pro in 2020 with Australian Continental team Nero Continental. After winning that year’s Zwift Academy , he signed and spent the next two years with Alpecin-Fenix, where his best finishes were a pair of stage wins in the 2022 Vuelta and a second overall finish in the 2021 Tour of Turkey.

Additionally, he won the mountain classification in the 2022 Étolie de Bessèges and the 2022 UCI Esports World Championships .

Equally as strong as a climber as he is a time trialist (he won the 2023 Australian national time trial championship), expect Vine not only to work in support of teammate Tadej Pogačar over the next few seasons, but to compete for general classifications as well.

The Emirati team announced his signing this morning via their website . “A lot has happened already in my first season with UAE, straight away the team fully backed me, and helped bring me to a successful start to the season at Tour Down Under and Australian National Championships,” Vine said in the statement. “I did get slowed down by my knee injury, but even through that, the team has been exceedingly supportive both on and off the bike... I’ve already learned so much under the guidance of the staff and the other riders.”

UAE Team Emirates team principal and CEO Mauro Gianetti added, “We saw a lot of potential and talent in Jay and also a margin for improvement. We have worked with a lot of detail on aspects such as his biomechanics and his training and we have seen him take steps forward. We are pleased with his progression and good attitude to being part of this team and we hope to continue to take those steps forward together in the years ahead.”

Vine is currently racing in this year’s Giro , where he sits in eighteenth place after seven stages, 2:47 down from the maglia rosa. He also raced in February's UAE Tour, which he did not finish, and he won the GC in January’s Tour Down Under .

Michael Venutolo-Mantovani is a writer and musician based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He loves road and track cycling, likes gravel riding, and can often be found trying to avoid crashing his mountain bike. 

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Australian cycling star Jay Vine avoids spinal surgery after horror crash in Spain

• Vine in neck brace for six weeks putting Olympic bid in peril
• Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard also badly injured

Australian cycling star Jay Vine will not have to have surgery on the spine injuries he suffered when falling heavily in a horror crash at the Itzulia Basque Country race.

His UAE Team Emirates medical director Dr Adrian Rotunno reported on Saturday that last year’s Tour Down Under winner Vine would remain in hospital and would be in a neck brace for up to six weeks.

But after suffering what the team described as “a cervical and two thoracic spine vertebral body fractures” in Thursday’s crash in northern Spain, there had been initial fears that the 28-year-old would need to be operated on.

“After examining MRI and final clinical assessment, thankfully no surgery will be necessary for Jay. The fractures are stable enough not to warrant surgical correction,” Rotunno said in a team statement.

“Jay will remain in hospital over the following days to allow for ongoing observations and further recovery. He will be in a neck brace for up to six weeks but will be able to start with general body rehab from next week.”

Vine looked to have come off worst of the dozen who fell in the mass crash which caused other luminaries, including double Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard and double world champion Remco Evenepoel, to also suffer serious injuries.

Vingegaard suffered a collapsed lung, a pulmonary contusion, broken ribs and a broken collarbone, with his title defence in doubt, while Evenepoel needed surgery on a fractured collarbone and shoulder blade.

After the Canberra rider slid at high speed on a descent into a concrete ditch at the side of a road, he lay motionless while being treated and TV pictures left his wife Bre, a former cyclist herself, fearing the worst.

Bre, who is pregnant, watched in horror as television images showed Jay being treated while motionless at the side of the bend.

“I will admit when I saw the live coverage of him just lying there not moving for such a long time, I genuinely wasn’t sure if I still had a husband and if the worst had happened,” she posted on Instagram.

“As soon as the team had comms it was communicated to me ASAP. And I’m so genuinely grateful for how quickly they got the news to me.”

She said she jumped in her car at their Andorra home and arrived at the hospital’s ICU six hours later.

“I will let UAE share his medical updates when we have determined the extent of the injuries. But for now he is ‘okay’, and we are still considering all our options. The team are making sure he and I are getting the best care possible,” she added.

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“There’s a lot to unpack from the incident, and we will have discussions with the relevant people later on, but for now my focus is on our family and helping Jay through this.

“I’ve followed every single kilometre Jay’s raced and trained, I’ve seen every crash, and every triumph.

“This crash is going to be one that sticks with us for a long time, but like Jay has done every single day before, he will fight and come back stronger than ever with the #getwreckedjay spirit that we love.

“It’s an odd phrase I’ll give you that, but goes back to all those years ago when we were racing mountain bikes. Long story short: it means give it everything you’ve got, sh*t will happen and things will go wrong, but keep fighting.

“And that is what this man continues to do on a daily basis and we will do again together.”

Vine’s rise has been one of cycling’s most inspiring, as the man who was discovered as an e-sports specialist, was snapped up by a pro team and has since become a Grand Tour stage winner and Tour Down Under champion.

But days after starting the Basque tour with a brilliant second place in the time trial, this latest in a catalogue of injuries he’s suffered will keep him out of the Giro d’Italia, where he would have been one of Tadej Pogacar’s key lieutenants in the mountains.

Double Tour de France champion Pogacar offered his best wishes to his teammate, whose Olympic hopes for 2024 are also surely over.

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Aussie star Vine, Vingegaard hospitalised after crash

Leading Australian rider Jay Vine has been taken to hospital after suffering serious injuries in a bad mass crash at high speed in the Itzulia Basque Country race in Spain .

Reigning double Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard was also hospitalised after the crash.

Vine, who rides for UAE Team Emirates, was diagnosed with a fractured cervical vertebra and two fractures in his thoracic spine.

Thankfully no neurological involvement, and there are no other major injuries or head trauma. Jay will stay in hospital for neurological observation. We await spinal orthopaedic assessment and further management." 2 | 2 Get well soon Jay🙏 #Itzulia2024 #WeAreUAE pic.twitter.com/Z6GmRMCmP4 — @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamEmiratesUAE) April 4, 2024

"Fortunately, there were no neurological problems and there are no other serious injuries or skull injuries," the team said in a statement.

The 28-year-old Australian will remain in hospital for neurological observation and is awaiting orthopaedic assessment of his spine and further treatment.

Vingegaard was reported by his Visma-Lease a Bike team to have suffered a broken collarbone and several ribs, but was "conscious" after the alarming crash, which threatens his hopes of a famous treble in July.

Vine, last year's Tour Down Under winner, also ended up crashing heavily in a concrete ditch and was also taken away by ambulance.

🚨 CAÍDA EN EL PELOTÓN🚨 Entre los caídos, Primoz Roglic, Remco Evenepoel, Quinten Hermans y Jonas Vingegaard 🏆 @bancosabadell 🔴 MORE INFO ⬇️ 🔗 https://t.co/JABIxm2MWO #Itzulia2024 pic.twitter.com/YnprHUo5Nr — Itzulia Basque Country (@ehitzulia) April 4, 2024

It was a disastrous day for another modern-day great too, with Remco Evenepoel, the 2022 world champion, managing to walk away from the crash despite suffering what his Soudal-Quick Step later confirmed was a fracture to his right collarbone and to his right shoulder blade. He will need surgery on Friday in Belgium .

Giro d'Italia champ Primoz Roglic, who had been the overnight leader, also abandoned the race after giving a thumbs-up to cameras from the BORA-hansgrohe team car to show he was fine.

In all, 12 riders near the front of the peloton were involved in the crash, which happened with about 35km left of the fourth stage between Etxarri Aranatz and Legutio, in northern Spain..

The leaders were making a sweeping right-hand turn on a slight but swift descent, with some sliding off, sending others off the road too into the ditch.

Denmark 's Vingegaard, who has been in spectacular form and was favourite for the 2024 Tour de France, had to be carried to the ambulance in a neck brace and needed oxygen after treatment at roadside by doctors.

The race was then neutralised until the finish, with only the six riders who had been at the front being allowed to sprint for the finish to try to win the stage, victory eventually going to the underwhelmed South African Louis Meintjes, who admitted it was a hollow triumph.

"It's a sad day. I wish all the guys who crashed all the best and wish them a fast recovery," Mattias Skjelmose, who took the overall race lead from Roglic, said at the finish.

"My mind is with the guys who crashed, and right now I am not thinking about the leader's jersey."

The crash, which featured three of the world's most outstanding riders in Vingegaard, Evenepoel and Roglic, was also a huge blow for Vine, who has graduated from riding a turbo trainer in his living room to being a peloton star.

He had begun the week-long race on Monday with an exceptional time trial that left him second behind only Roglic at that stage, and revealed afterwards that the Itzulia had been only a late addition to his schedule.

Earlier on Thursday, Roglic's teammate at BORA-Hansgrohe Lennard Kamna was reported to be in a "stable condition" in intensive care after he had collided with a car during a training ride in Tenerife.

Jay Vine to skip Tour Down Under title defence, later season targets draw focus

'I want to actually be able to compete in Europe this year so we decided it’s not feasible' says Australian of January home races

UAE Team Emirates rider Jay Vine will not be defending his Tour Down Under title in January, with the rider from Canberra who successfully stormed through the summer racing in Australia in 2023 opting to build for later season targets in 2024 instead.

Vine said that as he will be riding in both the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España next year so, particularly given his late finish to this season, will not be taking part in his home country’s only WorldTour stage race.

After two years where the Tour Down Under did not take place because of COVID-19 restrictions, Vine succeeded fellow Australian Richie Porte as winner of the race in 2023 ahead of Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla) and Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious). 

Apart from missing out on the Tour Down Under, Vine will also not be defending the Australian time trial title he took for the first time in 2023, he revealed during the UAE training camp in Spain.

Plapp and Yates join Ewan at Tour Down Under to create powerful Jayco AlUla trio Julian Alaphilippe to return to Tour Down Under with Willunga, Mount Lofty focus Subscribe to Cyclingnews to gain unlimited access to the 2024 Tour Down Under

“I’m doing Giro-Vuelta double again and if I actually do the Vuelta again that takes me well into September,” Vine told Cyclingnews . “So we’ve decided I won’t go to Australia at all and I’m not doing Road Nats, not doing TT Nats, not doing the Tour Down Under.”

Vine said the decision not to go back to Australia was taken roughly a month ago. The course for the 2024 Tour Down Under, featuring a double summit finish at Willunga Hill, unlike in 2023, and a different route up Mount Lofty, also gave added weight to his decision.

“It’s Willunga and Lofty – Lofty’s a lot easier this year," said Vine of the final stage which has less repeats of the finishing climb in 2024. "I would have to be on really good form before January to possibly do anything there.”

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“Last year I didn’t do any of my goal races before the Giro, I went straight into the Giro after injury and I want to actually be able to compete in Europe this year so we decided it’s not feasible.”

Yet another reason was that Vine raced until really late in 2023, completing his season at the Tour of Turkey in mid-October.

“At the end of the day turning that around that quickly, it’s just not possible. I’m not as good as [UAE team leader] Tadej [Pogačar],” he said with a smile. “Maybe he can race Il Lombardia and win and do the same in the following February with a 7 Watt per kilo effort – I can’t.”

Regarding one of the key ascents, Willunga Hill, “It’s a really hard climb to win on. My dream is to win there, but the numbers you have to do on that hill…everybody shows up on flying form, but I’d have to prepare from October, not finish in mid-October, take a break and then start in the middle of November. It’s just not possible.”

Vine’s absence removes one major contender from the January race, with Jayco-AIUIa’s Simon Yates and Luke Plapp , Soudal-QuickStep’s Julian Alaphilippe and Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) among the stand-out names that have so far been revealed as starters.

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Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews , he has also written for The Independent ,  The Guardian ,  ProCycling , The Express and Reuters .

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Australian cyclist Jay Vine takes his first steps after horror crash and reveals his fear in the days after the incident in Spain

Sport Australian cyclist Jay Vine takes his first steps after horror crash and reveals his fear in the days after the incident in Spain

Australian cycling ace Jay Vine has revealed his high emotion at being able to take his first steps towards recovery after the dreadful crash he feared might prevent him from ever walking again .

The 28-year-old Canberra-based rider, who suffered a fractured skull and vertebrae in his high-speed spill into a roadside concrete ditch at the Itzulia Basque Country race last week, revealed that he's been able to take his first tentative steps around his hospital ward in Spain after a "scary" period of uncertainty about his future.

Meanwhile, Vine's wife Bre, a former cyclist herself who is pregnant with the couple's first child, hailed his avoidance of an even more serious injury as a "miracle".

"I'm tracking as well as can be expected, I have been able to walk around my room with the aid of a walker, and taking the first step was pretty emotional after what I've been through," Vine said in an Instagram post.

"Just can't believe that I will still be able to walk and play with my kids one day, it was pretty scary for a couple of days when we weren't sure if surgery or neurological problems might present themselves.

"Long road ahead for my recovery, but I am looking forward to getting the process rolling."

Vine was left relieved when medics ruled he wouldn't need surgery on the injuries he suffered in a high-speed spill on a descent at last week's Itzulia Basque Country race.

A group of other big-name riders, including double Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard and double world champ Remco Evenepoel, also suffered bad injuries in the same crash.

"Across the past few days, the doctors/specialists have stressed to us just how lucky Jay is to have 'only' these injuries, and nothing permanent/more life-altering, whilst explaining what could have happened," his wife wrote.

"Which to be honest, was daunting for us both to hear, we knew how close he was, but having it properly explained definitely puts things into perspective — Jay is VERY lucky.

"Don't get me wrong, multiple fractured vertebrae and a fractured skull is very serious, but the fact that Jay didn't do more damage is honestly a miracle.

"Jay has been able to take his first few steps! As you can imagine there was a big wave of emotions from both of us when he was upright and able to step forward (very carefully).

"Even our little baby was excited that Jay was walking, so much so, Jay could feel them kicking in my belly for the first time."

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Jay Vine Wins Tour Down Under for Australia and UAE Team Emirates

It has been quite a ride for the 27-year-old Australian cyclist Jay Vine since he received a World Tour contract in 2020, during the Covid pandemic, after winning the academy program on the Zwift online cycling platform. Last year, he won two mountain stages at the Vuelta a España while riding for Alpecin–Fenix. That success prompted Tadej Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates to offer him a two-year contract, and Vine has done nothing but win since then.

On January 10, he came first in the Australian National Time Trial Championship and then, fewer than two weeks later, he won his first World Tour multistage race, the Tour Down Under. The Australian event had not been run since 2020 because of the pandemic, so it must have been special for both the organizers and Vine that it was won by an Australian. Australian riders also dominated the points classification, with Michael Matthews (Team Jayco AlUla) beating compatriot Caleb Ewan (UniSA-Australia) by 58 points to 47. “It was pretty hectic at the start,” Vine told journalists. “The team is just incredible. They deserve this [winner’s] jersey as much as I do.”

The race came down to the final stage, on which riders were faced with three climbs, including the final ascent to the summit on the aptly named Mt. Lofty. After stage 4, which was won by the French Cofidis sprinter Bryan Coquard, Vine had a lead of 15 sec over both Britain’s Simon Yates (Team Jayco AlUla) and Spaniard Pello Bilbao of Bahrain Victorious. So it was still anybody’s race to win.

Yates took off with 1.7 km left in the 114 km stage, and Vine and Australian Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroën) took up the chase. With less than 1 km to go, Yates was working hard at the front while the chasing riders were waiting for the right moment to race for the line. But Yates had the legs to hold them off. Vine was able to stay with him and finished with the same time to bring the race victory over the line. O’Connor finished third in the stage, at 2 sec.

Yates placed second in the GC, 11 sec behind the winner, while Bilbao held on to third place, 27 sec adrift. Bilbao also won stage 3, so he will be encouraged by his performance. Other stage winners include Australia’s Jumbo-Visma sprinter Denis Rohan and Italian Alberto Bettiol (EF-Education Easy Post), who won the 5.5 km time trial prologue.

Yates was far from discouraged by his performance. “It’s good to get the stage win for the team,” he said. “To finish on the podium and bring home a stage victory is a great start to the season.”

Vine said of his run in the final stage, “All I was thinking was, ‘Follow Yates, follow Yates, follow Yates.’ It’s been a great week. I hope to carry this back to Europe and keep getting some good results.”

That is certainly what Pogačar will also be hoping. The Slovenian will certainly be looking to Vine to help him up the prodigious climbs of the Tour de France as he seeks a third Tour victory and revenge for his loss to Jumbo-Visma’s Jonas Vingegaard last year. Another year of thrilling road racing has begun.

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From Zwift Academy to Grand Tour stage winner: Jay Vine’s unfamiliar rise to the top

The Australian rider proved that the online talent identification competition translates into real world racing

Words: Rachel Jary

“If I win this, I’d start to race against guys I’ve only ever watched on TV. It would be a dream come true.” It’s 2020, and Jay Vine is speaking to a camera from his living room in Australia. He’s being interviewed ahead of the finals of the Zwift Academy, a competition run by the indoor training platform whereby the winner will secure a pro contract with Alpecin-Deceuninck. “It would change my life,” he continues.

Fast forward two years, and plenty has changed for Vine. His dream came true, but it surpassed perhaps even his own expectations. He’s now in his second year as a professional with Alpecin-Decenunick after having his contract extended following a stellar first season as a neo-pro, and he’s not just racing the guys he’s watched on TV, he’s beating them.

Not in lower ranked races, or when there’s a lesser quality field, today Vine took his first professional victory in a Grand Tour stage, in a Vuelta a España  with perhaps the most  star-studded climbing contingent in recent history. He rode away from the famous prodigal Belgian talent Remco Evenepoel on the first proper mountain stage of the race. He may have learnt his trade riding indoors, but today Vine battled all the elements of the real world, fighting through the rain, fog and mist in an epic stage to the very top of Al Pico Jano.

Cycling isn’t really supposed to work like this. Traditionally – on the men’s side of the sport especially – latecomers like Vine don’t waltz into a WorldTour peloton and start winning. The narrative has long been pushed that riders should start racing as young as possible. That you need to grow up in a peloton to get used to the feeling of being in a bunch, to be able to control and handle the bike around tricky corners and alpine descents, to read a race and know when it’s the right time to attack and pace your effort.

It’s precisely these reasons why naysayers have looked down on the world of Zwift and e-racing. Riding stationary doesn’t hone in those skills that you learn on the road, it doesn’t teach you how to wrestle for positions with someone shoulder to shoulder or how to perfectly nail the apex of a corner. It’s why some said that Zwift Academy could never be a real pathway to professional racing. Since he entered the WorldTour scene last year, Jay Vine has been changing that narrative. It started with his second place in the overall GC at the 2021 Tour of Turkey in his very first race with Alpecin-Deceuninck, and was solidified with his third place finish on stage 14 of the Vuelta a España last year.

Vine’s win today was the final step in redefining the normal pathway to success in cycling. He took victory in one of the biggest races in the entire sport, validating the trust that Alpecin-Deceuninck put in him based on the raw talent and power he produced on a turbo trainer in his living room a few years ago.

The 26-year-old’s victory has wider implications than just his personal success. The tradition in cycling that riders need to prove themselves in Europe first in order to secure professional contracts is dangerously alienating and risks significantly reducing the pool of talent entering the professional peloton.

Without Zwift Academy, a rider with the potential to win a mountain stage in a Grand Tour could still be racing domestically in Australia, unable to find enough support or funding to get himself to get over to Europe and get noticed by a WorldTour team. There are hundreds of riders outside of traditional cycling countries who likely possess the raw talent that Vine does, and his victory today is proof of how important it is to create pathways that give these riders a chance.

Less than a decade ago, if you’d have told the cycling world that a Vuelta a España stage winner would come from a background of e-racing and been talent spotted based on power numbers alone, few would have believed you. But the sport is changing, and it’s changing for the better. Jay Vine is proof that there’s more than one way to reach the pinnacle of cycling, and with it he’s proving to more and more WorldTour teams that they can look outside of the box to spot talent.

Perhaps most importantly, his win today will have made many people around the world believe that achieving your dream can be far closer than it may have once seemed.

Cover image: Getty Images/Justin Setterfield

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Australian cycling star jay vine starts recovery after horrific crash, wife says it’s a ‘miracle he wasn’t more seriously hurt, sickening crash in basque country takes out aussie vine.

• NCA NewsWire
• 10:24AM April 11, 2024

Australian cycling star Jay Vine has revealed he feared he’d never walk or “play with my kids” again as he took his first steps in recovery from a “scary” accident in Spain.

Vine remains hospitalised after the crash, which also took down reining Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard and double world champ Remco Evenepoel at the Itzulia Basque Country race last week.

Vine, 28, suffered a fractured skull and vertebrae in his high-speed spill into a roadside concrete ditch and his wife Bre, also a former cyclist who is pregnant with their first child, said it was a “miracle” he wasn’t injured more badly.

After a “scary” period of uncertainty about his future, Vine said he had started walking in his hospital room in Spain and had avoided long-term damage, but his recovery would be a “long road”.

“I’m tracking as well as can be expected, I have been able to walk around my room with the aid of a walker, and taking the first step was pretty emotional after what I’ve been through,” Vine said in an Instagram post.

“Just can’t believe that I will still be able to walk and play with my kids one day, it was pretty scary for a couple of days when we weren’t sure if surgery or neurological problems might present themselves.

“Long road ahead for my recovery, but I am looking forward to getting the process rolling.”

Yay! Jay Vine is smiling and has managed some steps! #Itzulia2024 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/131w69ZYgg — Anna Mac 👑🪱 🌈🖤 (@AnnamacB) April 9, 2024

Vine didn’t need surgery on the injuries suffered in a high-speed spill on a descent and Bre stressed just how lucky he was.

“Across the past few days the doctors/specialists have stressed to us just how lucky Jay is to have ‘only’ these injuries, and nothing permanent/more life altering whilst explaining what could have happened,” she said.

“Which to be honest was daunting for us both to hear, we knew how close he was, but having it properly explained definitely puts things into perspective – Jay is VERY lucky.

“Don’t get me wrong, multiple fractured vertebrae and a fractured skull is very serious, but the fact that Jay didn’t do more damage is honestly a miracle.

“Jay has been able to take his first few steps! As you can imagine there was a big wave of emotions from both of us when he was upright and able to step forward (very carefully).

“Even our little baby was excited that Jay was walking, so much so, Jay could feel them kicking in my belly for the first time.”

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Jay Vine: "It’s clear the team hasn’t just signed me to be a domestique"

Jay Vine has one of the most unique stories in the peloton and is the face of an ever-evolving scouting system that is currently under place at the very top of cycling . He gives some background on his ways around his early cyclist years and his transfer to UAE Team Emirates .

“It’s absurd to me that there’s still this thing, that it has to be done in the correct competition: the watts are the watts," Vine told Cyclingnews. "Without COVID, I may have not got the opportunity," he says, having turned professional in 2020.

The queen stages of the 2023 Grand Tours!

Vine explained how he decided to give it his all into the dream of becoming a pro cyclist. In 2020 he signed with the Australian Nero Continental and was riding around the Australian circuit. After several years of his and his partner Bre's effort, the Zwift Academy event was the breakthrough he needed.

“I didn’t really have a plan, it was more that if I hadn’t started earning a cheque by a certain point, I was going to have to throw in the towel,” Vine says. “I think that was going to be the end of 2021 at the absolute latest, and that was only if 2020 had gone really well but didn’t have quite the impact we were after.”

Mads Pedersen explains why Remco Evenepoel was the cause of his absence from World Championships - "I have zero regrets"

“I said, ‘That’s my contract: I’m one of the best climbers in Australia, and I probably am the best climber in Australia who hasn’t already been signed by a WorldTour team. I prepared fully, there was nothing else to do." Eventually, Vine won the event, showing his capacity as a rider, and earned a contract with Alpecin-Deceuninck.

In 2021 he was in the pro peloton, racing alongside the likes of Mathieu van der Poel, Jasper Philipsen and Tim Merlier. It was a big step that took time to pay off, but the Belgian Pro Team would benefit from the move in 2022.

Cees Bol "decided to follow Mark Cavendish to Astana" Vincenzo Nibali argues after failed negotiations

Vine impressed throughout the season but it was at the Vuelta a Espana where he had another breakthrough. With almost two years of racing in Europe under the belt, he had developed the necessary skills to ride in the peloton, and put them to good use in Spain.

He abandoned the race in the final week, but that wasn't before he net two stage wins and wore the KOM jersey until his last moments in the race. “I was annoyed because I wanted to win another stage,” he admitted. “But the positive thing about losing the jersey is that I’ll learn how to live with it.”

Profiles & Route 2023 Vuelta a Espana - Andorra, Tourmalet and Angliru summit finishes headline mountainous route

Vine directly beat the likes of Remco Evenepoel, Primoz Roglic and Enric Mas in the opening summit finish to San Miguel de Aguayo. His climbing capacity was more than evident, and it saw UAE Team Emirates further push to sign the Australian. A transfer in which he's signed an NDA, Vine is now racing alongside the likes of Tadej Pogacar.

Vine has already made his debut winning in team colours, grabbing the Australian time-trial national championships. He'll be eyeing the Giro d'Italia soon alongside João Almeida, but he may not have a domestique role. “It’s clear the team hasn’t just signed me to be a domestique,” Vine hints. “It’s going to be exciting.”

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Preliminary startlist tour down under 2023 with froome, bilbao, matthews, s.yates, hindley, hayter and ewan.

Ver esta publicação no Instagram Uma publicação partilhada por Jay Vine (@jay_vine3)

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Climbing sensation Jay Vine beats back rumors of move from Alpecin-Deceuninck

Double vuelta a españa stage-winner deflects transfer speculation after reports of move to uae emirates for 2023..

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Alpecin-Deceuninck climbing sensation Jay Vine deflected transfer speculation Monday.

Vine beat back the rumors of a move to UAE Team Emirates when asked by VeloNews in a call Monday morning.

“I’ve got a contract with Alpecin-Deceuninck until the end of ’23. I did get some contacts from some teams after stage eight of the Vuelta, but nothing came from those chats, no,” Vine confirmed.

Murmurs in recent days indicated Vine was set to break from the team that put him into the pro ranks last winter.

Hot off the back of a standout Vuelta a España that scored him two mountaintop stage wins, Vine would make for a key cog in the climber train of any top GC contender – including double Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar.

• Vine doubles up with second Vuelta victory
• Alpecin-Deceuninck applies for WorldTour license 

Meanwhile, UAE Team Emirates has been busy this winter bolstering its already brimming roster.

Adam Yates, Tim Wellens, and Felix Großschartner all join for 2023 to bring even more workhorses and wingmen for Pogačar, João Almeida, Juan Ayuso, and Brandon McNulty.

But it seems – for now at least – that Vine won’t be joining the Emirati climber roster as he commits to the WorldTour-bound Alpecin-Deceuninck.

The Belgium-based team will boost up to WorldTour status next year after flying high in the 2020-2022 points-hunting cycle.

Grand tour stage wins from Vine, Jasper Philipsen and Mathieu van der Poel sit next to the latter’s comeback victory at Tour of Flanders in a 34-win haul for 2022 that helped leave the team eighth overall in the UCI’s three-year points ranking.

Next year, Vine look set to be joined at Alpecin-Deceuninck by new recruits Søren Kragh Andersen, Quinten Hermans, and Kaden Groves.

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Remco Evenepoel targets Tour de France, says 'pain is getting less and less' after frightening crash

Updated 19/04/2024 at 18:04 GMT

A frightening incident at the Itzulia Basque Country earlier in April saw Remco Evenepoel break a collarbone and shoulder blade as several riders suffered serious injuries. Speaking publicly for the first time since then, Evenepoel said that his recovery is going well and was optimistic of recovering in time for a summer featuring the Tour de France and Paris Olympics.

Watch highlights as Evenepoel sprints to win Stage 8 of Paris-Nice, as Jorgenson takes GC

Evenepoel discharged from hospital after successful collarbone surgery

07/04/2024 at 20:42

• Stage 5 highlights: Paret-Peintre wins final stage after Thomas attack, Lopez tops GC
• 'Now it's time to fully recover' - Vingegaard released from hospital after crash

Jonas Vignegaard und Remco Evenepoel

Image credit: Getty Images

Evenepoel crashes after sliding out in corner

'room for growth and improvement,' says evenepoel ahead of ardennes classics tilt.

11/03/2024 at 18:17

Jorgenson wins Paris-Nice, Evenepoel takes Stage 8 victory

10/03/2024 at 15:09

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