Huge boost for UAE Team Emirates-XRG as key climber and multiple time Grand Tour stage winner extends contract - "There’s still so much I want to achieve"
Cycling
UAE Team Emirates-XRG have been handed a significant boost as one of the team's key climbers has extended their contract, signing a long term deal that will keep him with Tadej Pogacar's squad until the end of the 2029 season.
Australian Jay Vine is staying put with the Emirati squad as he looks to bounce back from a rollercoaster season that saw him win the Tour Down Under before crashing out of the Giro d'Italia and also not finishing the Vuelta a Espana.
The 30-year-old - who is also a time trial specialist - has taken twelve wins since joining Mauro Gianetti's outfit in 2023. With four Vuelta stage wins on his palmares, Vine also won the KOM classification in the 2024 and 2025 editions of the race.
In a boost for UAE in a transfer window that saw them lose Pavel Sivakov - a key Pogacar domestique - as well as Giro breakout Igor Arrieta, the news comes as a relief for the team as they hold onto a top climber.
Jay Vine
“I’m already building towards the 2027 season"
"I’m really happy to be continuing with the team until 2029. I couldn’t imagine a better fit, and I’m incredibly grateful for the trust and support I’ve been shown here, both in the good times and the more difficult ones. That support means a lot to me and is something I really value about this team," Vine said in the announcement.
“I’m already building towards the 2027 season and can’t wait to get started. There’s still so much I want to achieve, and I’m excited to keep working alongside some genuine friends, and see what we can accomplish together over the coming years.”
Having ridden nine Grand Tours throughout his career, Vine surprisingly has not ridden the Tour de France during his time with both UAE and Alpecin-Premier Tech.
Read also
Could Vine make Tour debut?
As Tadej Pogacar looks to go for a history-making sixth Tour de France, the Australian could bein the frame to form one of his support riders at the race.
Vine made his major breakthrough at the 2022 Vuelta, taking two mountain stage wins with Alpecin - two years after joining the team following his victory in the Zwift Academy program, putting him on the radar of professional teams.
With UAE, Vine has enjoyed freedom to race for major goals at stage races and time trials while also supporting Jaoa Almeida and Tadej Pogacar throughout his stint with UAE.
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- they should allow teams to add to the roster limit if they are adding riders in other disciplines. for example, you can have 30 road riders, 3 gravel, 3 mountain bike, 3 cyclocross. that way a team isn't penalized by losing road riders by expanding into other disciplines. of course it needs to be policed as does a team classify Pidcock, MVDP or WVA as cross, mountain, or what? But that is workable.mij27-10-2026
- great guy and a winner if he can stay healthy.mij27-10-2026
- Utter rubbish
Rafionain-Glas27-10-2026 - Ha! For “spring” read “sprint”.Lozza27-10-2026
- Well, for all the whinging about UAE’s massive budget allowing them to buy up all the talent at the expense of the other teams, just take a look at the last couple of seasons of transfers and I think you’ll find UAE aren’t the ones snapping up all the talent!Lozza27-10-2026
- It'll be like the much vaunted Glasgow Worlds legacy millions of pounds spent.. nothing to show for it. I'm sure that the UK Grand Depart will be exactly the same!slappers6627-10-2026
- Hey @acem, I'm not talking about the quality of your or mine statements... I'm talking about the quality of the riders. Capish? PS: And why is Jumping Grasshopper John speaking out? Who asked him anything? Tell him to shush, or I will !!!🤣🤣🤣PogiSloFans27-10-2026
- OK, the TdF 2027 is not built for Pogi. We've heard that at least 100X since the route came out. It's all BS!!! Here's my take on Pogi's 2027 season: Maybe not riding Paris Roubaix would be a smart move considering Pogi's crash and injuries. I think je will recover very well but nevertheless, why risk when he doesn't have to. PR really hits the body hard because of the cobbles. Maybe, just maybe, it could do some damage to his vertebra fracture or concussion, we never know. The upper-body strain, the hands, wrists, forearms, shoulders, NECK AND BACK must cope with repeated jolts. So if Pogi's priorities are the Tour, Vuelta and World Championships, and if he can win them all, the job is done. He will check off the Vuelta, become the first in history to have six TdF wins and take back the Rainbow Jersey. He can also do the Itzulia Basque Country race, to check it off (he would have the "Big Seven" one week races under his belt).... and of course he can still race some other one day races like LBL, Lombardia etc. With all these results under his belt, Pogi can concentrate on Paris Roubaix and the Olympic games in 2028... and maybe his seventh TdF, like Armstrong, but with one huge difference: Pogi would have seven official Tdf wins, Armstrong has none.PogiSloFans27-10-2026
- Tadej said it. and he also looked beleaguered after last year's tour, and came back in the world and Lombardia crushing it. and he is also the one that begged to race euros. and is racing a crit end of the month. and to the point below, it is irrelevant. his injuries do not hold a candle to the others mentioned in the headline. Roll's comment is idiotic.mij27-10-2026
- It will absolutely change his tt position. Call me out if I'm wrong, when we start seeing him training on the tt bike, you will see.awp27-10-2026
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