Knee injury forces Jay Vine out of UAE Tour

Tour Down Under winner Jay Vine had came in to the UAE Tour as one of the big favourites, however he struggled through the opening days. The reason has been uncovered, as the Australian will not start stage 3 due to a knee injury.

"Unfortunately Jay Vine will not start stage 3 of UAE Tour due to a knee injury," a team statement read this morning. "Vine came into the race with some light knee pain from a training injury which has not improved this week. It was decided to withdraw him from the event as a precaution to allow him time to recover."

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Vine had struggled in the crosswinds on the opening day, but most crucially he did not finish stage 2's team time-trial with the best, loosing almost a minute in relation to his teammates Adam Yates and Brandon McNulty.

A pebble in the shoe for the leader of the 2023 UCI rankings, and one which is a blow to the ambitions of UAE at their home race. He is expected to return home now before returning to competition at Tirreno-Adriatico.