Kangaroo at the Tour Down Under leaves UAE shorthanded: Jay Vine also suffers a wrist fracture

Jay Vine has again taken center stage at the start of the season after winning the Tour Down Under. The Australian sealed overall victory however he did so with a broken wrist. As it is now known, Vine actually did get injured after his collision with a kangaroo.

The race, however, ended overshadowed by an unexpected incident on the final stage. A kangaroo jumped onto the road and triggered a crash that caused chaos in the bunch. That pile-up also involved Mikkel Bjerg, who sustained a hand fracture, as UAE Team Emirates XRG reported at the time.

On Tuesday, the team confirmed that Jay Vine was also injured in that crash. Further medical tests revealed a significant scaphoid fracture in his left wrist, which had not been identified immediately after the race.

The team’s medical director, Dr Adrian Rotunno, explained the situation in an official statement: “After the race, Jay reported wrist pain as a consequence of the crash on the final stage. Following medical assessment, a significant scaphoid fracture was detected in his left wrist and he successfully underwent surgery on Tuesday morning.”

UAE Team Emirates has confirmed that Vine will be withdrawn from competition to focus on postoperative recovery and rehabilitation, with no specific timetable yet set for his return to racing.

The update on Bjerg read: “Mikkel collided with a kangaroo that entered the road. He abandoned the race and was examined by the doctors. He has an acromioclavicular joint fracture and a hand fracture.”

Vine has built a robust stage race résumé, with two overall victories at the Tour Down Under (2023 and 2026), plus two overall runner-up finishes at the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey (2021 and 2022) and another second overall at the Tour of Norway in 2022. Nationally, he is a two-time Australian time trial champion (2023 and 2026); and he took silver in the 2025 World Championships time trial, alongside back-to-back second places at Chrono des Nations (2024 and 2025).

In terms of stage wins, Vine has four at the Vuelta a España (2022 and 2025), where he also claimed two mountains classifications (2024 and 2025). His palmarès also includes stage victories at the Tour de Romandie (2025), the Tour Down Under (2026) and the Vuelta a Burgos (2024), as well as two stage wins at Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali in 2025.