Jay Vine on winning Tour Down Under with a broken wrist and crashing into a kangaroo: "Only in Australia, right?"

Jay Vine has had a near perfect start to his 2026 season, having won the Australian time trial national championships and then right after the Tour Down Under. It was an eventful edition, with a stage win, a cut stage and a crash into a kangaroo which then saw him finish the race with a broken wrist.

"Earlier in the season, claiming the National Time Trial title is something I’m hugely proud of. The time trial is such a pure discipline - no tactics, no hiding, just you against the clock. Pulling on the green and gold skinsuit on home roads meant a lot to me. It gave me a huge confidence boost heading into Tour Down Under and confirmed that the work done over the winter was paying off," Vine said in a column for The National News.

The Australian took some time off the bike following this block of training and racing, a necessity as he is currently healing a wrist fracture. He was set to race the UAE Tour soon alongside Isaac del Toro, but the decision is still under question. However his good form in Australia was the fruit of a good winter's work.

"That winter work was built at our camp in Spain, which was massive for us as a group. It’s not just about kilometers in the legs, it’s about building rhythm, trust, and understanding how everyone rides," he explained. "Long climbs, hard training blocks, and sitting down together in the evenings talking through goals and races, that’s where a team really comes together. You could see it in Australia. Everyone knew their role, and everyone executed it perfectly".

"The week at the Tour Down Under is still sinking in. Adelaide is never an easy place to race, the heat is relentless, the racing is aggressive, and everyone arrives flying after the winter. To come away with the overall victory, and to feel like we truly controlled the race, is incredibly satisfying".

The race started off better than even UAE could have predicted, with Vine and Jhonatan Narváez showing themselves head and shoulders above the competition in the finale into Uraidla, which saw them win almost a minute on the competition.

"From the first uphill finish, I knew the legs were there, but more importantly, the team was completely dialed in. When form, teamwork, and timing all line up like that, it makes for a really special week. Winning with this team always means a lot but doing it in Australia takes it to another level. I grew up watching Tour Down Under on TV, dreaming about being part of it one day".

After he attacked on the ascent to Corkscrew, everything fell into place, and it felt like the biggest issue was on whether the team would attempt to ease down Narváez' ambitions not to capture bonifications and take the race lead from Vine. But Narváez crashed out in the latter half of the race eventually.

"The plan was never to sit back and wait; it was to make it hard from the bottom and force the race open. Once we hit that climb full gas, I knew it was going to be one of the defining moments of the week".

"The work the guys did that day was unbelievable. Adam [Yates] rode himself completely inside out on the lower slopes, setting a relentless tempo that blew the group apart. When Jhony [Narvaez] and I made our move, the rest of the team committed fully to locking the race down behind us".

Incredible wattages also provided a great sign for the rest of the season. "Setting a new record up Corkscrew is cool, but what mattered most was how perfectly executed the teamwork was. That stage doesn’t happen without every single rider buying in one hundred percent".

However with Narváez, Vegard Stake Laengen and then also Mikkel Bjerg abandoning the race, all due to crashes, it was a far from ideal finale to the race. And as luck would have it Vine didn't, as he managed to continue after fracturing his wrist after colliding with a kangaroo on the final day of the race.

"Then came one of the most surreal moments of my career. Only in Australia, right? One second everything’s calm, the next there’s a kangaroo right in front of me and I’m sliding down the road," he recalls. "At first, your mind goes straight to damage control, make sure nothing’s broken, make sure the bike still works. Then it was straight into chase mode".

His support by that time was reduced, but the race was saved in Stirling. "The boys were incredible. Dropping back, pacing me, keeping me calm. Without them, I probably lose the jersey that day. That moment summed up what this team is about, and it secured us the win.