"If I'm not doing it with Tadej, it's doing it with Isaac or João" - Jay Vine wants to help UAE win a Grand Tour and to become an even better time trialist
Cycling
Jay Vine is entering a new year with UAE Team Emirates - XRG and with baby number 2 on the way. The Australian has found his home with the Emirati team where he is allowed to chase his own individual results, but where he also wants to be part of Grand Tour-winning teams with the likes of Tadej Pogacar, Isaac del Toro or João Almeida.
After his breakthrough climbing performances in 2022, mainly where he won two mountain stages at the Vuelta a España (even beating Remco Evenepoel, Primoz Roglic and Enric Mas directly in one), he was one of the many strong signings from the Emirati team. With three seasons under his belt however, he has achieved a lot including a Tour Down Under, two more Vuelta a España wins this year whilst winning the KOM jersey in 2024 and 2024; and several others big results such as this year's silver medal at the time trial World Championships. Vine has found his position in the peloton.
An 11th place at the Tour Down Under last year was a disappointment however, and he is now looking to correct that. "I just went into Australia a bit underdone, so I'm trying to fix that this year," he told Cyclingnews. "I still went in really well, but the sport's moved on in two years since I last went to Australia, so you've now got to be on a very good level to do well there. Especially racing against the Jayco team and especially at Nationals."
He will then follow that up with the UAE Tour, which in 2024 he led into the final day, before cracking spectacularly. But his schedule isn't as fixed as some of the team leaders': "I've no idea what the team wants. I wasn't told whether I could go with the polka dot jersey last year either in the Vuelta and I wasn't even told I was doing the Vuelta until 2 days before San Sebastian."
However, as he confirmed to CyclingUpToDate back at the team's media day in mid-December, he will race the Giro d'Italia. "I'd like to finish the Giro this year, that's for sure. Obviously there's a 40 km time trial, so that's on my bucket list. It's dead flat but a bit technical at both ends, so I'm looking forward to that".
This year he started both Giro d'Italia (although he didn't finish it) and Vuelta a España, where he helped Isaac del Toro and João Almeida to second places respectively. However, that win still didn't come for a Grand Tour lineup where he was present.
"I'd still like to win a Grand Tour with the team. To be able to be beside a leader who's standing on the podium with whatever trophy it is, that is still part of my career goals," he admits. "And if I'm not doing it with Tadej [Pogacar], it's doing it with Isaac [Del Toro] or João [Almeida] or something like this is. It's one of my career goals."
Vine with Remco Evenepoel and Ilan van Wilder at the Rwanda World Championships' individual time trial podium
Becoming a better time trialist
However his focus has steered away from the climbs to the time trial bike. Vine is still a top climber, having won two mountain stages at the Vuelta, taking two solo wins at the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali; and finishing on the podium of the Tour de Romandie and Top10 of Il Lombardia despite not being a leader there.
But it is against the clock that he looks to stand out, and where he has shifted his focus. A world title could perhaps be in his future too? "If you're trying to win, that's pretty much almost impossible, if it's a super hard time trial Evenepoel is the best in the world. And then if it's a dead flat time trial, Evenepoel is best in the world, closely followed by Ganna and Tarling."
He is a top rider, but has not won one this year, despite finishing second four times this year: National championships (to Luke Plapp); Vuelta a España (to Filippo Ganna); World Championships (to Remco Evenepoel) and Chrono des Nations (to Joshua Tarling).
The defeat at the Vuelta, by less than a second, was the one that hurt the most: "I lost to Ganna by one second in the Vuelta. We don't know if it had been the original course, if I could have won that, and a time trial in the final week of a Grand Tour is a completely different beast to an individual one day even, as well. So it's still possible to get results there too."
"Time trialling is important to me, and I mean, I think I can do both. I'm never going to be a super climber, so I'm happy where I am with climbing. Rather, it's all about improving the time trialing," he concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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