"It would be nice if the sport were known for something other than a kangaroo jumping in front of the riders": Jay Vine reflects on Down Under crashes
Cycling
Jay Vine has a 50% win to DNF ratio thus far in the 2026 season. The 30-year-old opened his season with a national time trial season, then abandoned the road race, and followed up with an overall victory at the Tour Down Under. However that wasn't as simple as it would've seemed. On a penultimate stage in and around Stirling, a kangaroo took the peloton by an attack, taking out race leader Jhonatan Narváez while Vine himself also suffered an injury causing a two-month racing break.
"Everyone knows by now. A kangaroo jumped into the peloton, causing half the peloton to crash," he reflects on it once again with Sporza. "It made the news worldwide, but it would be nice if the sport were known for something other than a kangaroo jumping in front of the riders. It is what it is."
Vine initially seemed to get off with a scare, but still sustained a fracture in his left wrist from the incident. This proved to be the start of yet another rehabilitation, for the seemingly haunted Vine. It's taken until the second half of March for the Australian to return to action at the Volta a Catalunya.
But despite the forced pause, Vine admits that the feeling in his hand is far from perfect, and that a wrist injury can take multiple months to fully heal. "I’m doing well, but of course I’m still rehabilitating, but that can take 9 to 12 months."
Vine is therefore tempering expectations for the coming days, as the riders head into the Catalan mountains. "It would be nice to get a result, but I don’t think I’m at a good enough level yet to compete with these guys. We have Joao (Almeida) and Brandon (McNulty) who are doing very well. The goal is to support them."
In the meantime, we have seen Vine stroke by further bad luck during the third stage of Volta a Catalunya, crashing with 70 kilometers to go. Since then, it has been confirmed the UAE rider has abandoned the stage with medical update expected to arrive later.
Jay Vine made it onto the time trial World Championships podium in 2025
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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