"Hard to find the words to describe just how proud I am" - Jay Vine's wife post heartfelt message after racing return following 4 months out in life threatening crash

Whilst many eyes were drawn to the likes of Remco Evenepoel, Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic in the horrific crash at the Itzulia Basque Country earlier this year, Jay Vine's wife Bre was scanning the TV images of the strewn riders for her husband. Sadly, the UAE Team Emirates man was indeed one of those caught up.

Worst of all was the fact that the Australian would prove to be one of the worst affected in the incident, suffering some very nasty injuries. He suffered three fractured vertebrae after crashing into a concrete ditch which left him in need of serious medical attention and caused him to be wearing a neck brace for six weeks and miss out on the Giro d'Italia, where he had been planned to race.

After four months out recovering however, Vine returned to racing on Monday afternoon as the 2024 Vuelta a Burgos got underway in Spain. Again, the Aussies' wife Bre was glued to the TV screen, following the action closely. "4 months on since Basque, and Jay Vine is back racing in the peloton, and I’m back watching the race live stream from our living room, whilst constantly refreshing PCS," she writes on her Instagram account. "Almost as if nothing has happened, but as we all know, a lot happened in those 4 months - so to get to this point is simply incredible. It’s hard to find the words to describe just how proud I am of Jay, his determination and courage is genuinely remarkable and I don’t think many can ever truly understand what he’s really been through."

"Rewind those 4 months back to the ICU, it was 1am, when we first saw each other, I just spoke to the surgeons and was just trying to keep it together. We had so many question marks on what will happen next. How serious are his injuries? Will he make it through the next 48 hours? Will he be quadriplegic? Will he be able to hold our baby? Walk again? Ride a bike? Let alone return to professional racing? It was all so unknown, and all we could do was hope for the best and work through each hour/day/week and month as they came," she recalls. "Fast forward to now, 4 months on: I’ve just watched Jay cross the finishing line, he’s completed his first day back racing, and I get the ‘I’m Safe’ text from him, like he always sends after each stage. And just like that, it feels like things are back to normal, and back to our Team Vine routine, despite everything that has happened. The fact that we are at this point is extraordinary to say the least, and I can’t thank UAE Team Emirates enough for their support, they’ve truly been amazing support."

"I’m genuinely so thankful that we are getting back to our relative norm, and to have Jay back racing and smiling in the bunch! I can’t wait to watch him race and be back doing what he loves!" Bre Vine concludes. "My job over the next week is to NOT go into labour whilst Jay is away racing, so I will be mimicking a sloth and just trying to make baby Vine comfortable for the week when Jay get’s back we’ll have another whirlwind of life changes and we can’t wait to start."