Jay Vine's wife Bre tells heartbreaking minutes after Itzulia crash: "I genuinely wasn’t sure if I still had a husband and if the worst had happened"

Jay Vine was one of the worst affected riders after yesterday's mass crash at Itzulia Basque Country, and suffered three fractured vertebrae. The UAE Team Emirates rider remained rather motionless for several minutes in the concrete ditch where a few riders fell, and his wife Bre Vine opens up about the horrible experience that was not knowing the Australian's state.

"There’s no doubt this was a horrific crash, and this is hard (and going to be hard for a long time). This sport can be cruel, and we’ve been reminded of how cruel it can be," Bre Vine wrote in an Instagram post. "I will admit when I saw the live coverage of him just lying there not moving for such a long time, I genuinely wasn’t sure if I still had a husband and if the worst had happened. As soon as the team had comms it was communicated to me ASAP. And I’m so genuinely grateful for how quickly they got the news to me.

Bre Vine is a very active on social media and herself a former cyclist, currently pregnant with the couple's child. Vine began the race with a very strong second place in the initial time-trial but drifted down the GC over the coming two stages. Nevertheless, he was close to the head of the peloton when the mass crash took place, falling into the side of the road and eventually ending in a ditch - although not the same one where the likes of Primoz Roglic and Steff Cras were. Vine was isolated from all other riders, and for many minutes stayed there as the race's medical team made the efforts to stabilize him.

Ultimately the worst was avoided, but Vine's injuries are nevertheless very serious and will likely mean several months out of competition, at best. "I jumped in the car yesterday afternoon and after 6ish hours later I arrived at the hospital ICU with Jay," Bre wrote. "I will let UAE share his medical updates when we have determined the extent of the injuries. But for now he is ‘okay’, and we are still considering all our options. The team are making sure he and I are getting the best care possible."

Vine has had so far quite an unlucky year, losing a possible UAE Tour title on the final day when nothing hinted that he would have a bad day; and also abandoned the Volta a Catalunya with stomach issues on the second day of racing. Itzulia was his return to racing but it's outcome was even worst. The Giro d'Italia, where he was set to help Tadej Pogacar, has now been scraped as it is unknown when or if he will return to the peloton.

"There’s a lot to unpack from the incident, and we will have discussions with the relevant people later on, but for now my focus is on our family and helping Jay through this," his partner continued. "I’ve followed every single kilometre Jay’s raced and trained, I’ve seen every crash, and every triumph. This crash is going to be one that sticks with us for a long time, but like Jay has done every single day before, he will fight and come back stronger..."

"It’s an odd phrase I’ll give you that, but goes back to all those years ago when we were racing mountain bikes, and long story short: It means give it everything you’ve got, sh*t will happen and things will go wrong, but keep fighting. And that is what this man continues to do on a daily basis and we will do again together. Thank you for all the messages of support and well wishes. This is a hard time."