"Some teams weren’t keen on seeing our jersey up the road" - Jay Vine hits out at controlling of UAE at Giro d'Italia

UAE Team Emirates - XRG arguably have the strongest team in the entire peloton at the 2025 Giro d'Italia. Perhaps because of this, rival teams are being a bit wary of letting UAE's riders attack early and get into the breakaway, as Jay Vine found out first hand on stage 7.

"The plan this morning was pretty clear — get up the road, try to get in the break, and have a crack at the stage," writes the Australian in a post-stage reflection on his official Instagram account in the aftermath of stage 7. "But as we rolled out, it became obvious the peloton wasn’t going to let that happen. Some teams weren’t keen on seeing our jersey up the road today, and that’s just how it goes sometimes."

And so, instead of a day in the breakaway, Vine dedicated his stage 7 to helping his team leaders. "Once that door closed, the focus shifted — help the team as much as I could and make sure we were in a good place for the finale," he explains. "Really proud of how the group came together today. Huge congratulations to Juan Ayuso for sealing the win from the group — and Isaac del Toro for coming across second, what a ride by them!"

With 7 stages down and three riders in the top 10 of the general classification, UAE Team Emirates - XRG continue to look incredibly strong at the 2025 Giro d'Italia, and as Vine notes, it's still all to play for. "That’s one third of the Giro done and dusted already. Legs are ticking along well, and morale is high. There’s a lot of racing still to come, and this group’s got more to give," concludes the 29-year-old. "Looking forward to what the next stages bring — we’ll keep fighting, one day at a time."