"He can now train outdoors again" - Almost two months after brutal crash at Itzulia Basque Country, Jay Vine removes neck brace

55 days since the crazy crash at the Itzulia Basque Country, all riders involved can now train again. The last of which was Jay Vine, who has recently removed his neck brace and is now allowed to train on the road once again.

“A CT scan has now shown that the bone is healing well. Jay can now take off his neck brace. He can now train outdoors again, although he will have to build up slowly," UAE Team doctor Adrian Rottuno said in words to Wielerflits. It cannot be said that Vine was the worst affected in the crash that has so far marked the season (involving Primoz Roglic, Remco Evenepoel, and Jonas Vingegaard who is still at risk of not participating at the Tour de France).

However Vine is the rider who had the injuries that hampered him for the longest duration. The UAE Team Emirate also crashed into a gutter, but a separate one from the previously mentioned riders. Vine fractured three vertebrae and was one of the four riders that needed to be stabilized for a large amount of time at the ambulance in the crash scene.

"That is very important for his position on the bike. We will monitor this process closely," UAE's doctor continues. "Jay still has several weeks of rehabilitation ahead of him, but this is the first big step he has taken in seven weeks. This is of course very nice from a mental and physical point of view.”

This does not, of course, mean an imminent return to competition. Whilst it is expected, Vine's return to competition isn't likely anytime before July. He was set out to race the Giro d'Italia but Tadej Pogacar was in a completely comfortable position throughout the three weeks and was not in need of another pure climber on the lineup. The Vuelta a España is a possibility, but only in the best case scenario when it comes to his recovery.