Jay Vine returned to action this week at Return to Cataloniaeight weeks after an eventful stage 5 at Tour Down Under. The final stage brought him a second career GC title at his home race, as well as a close encounter with one of two kangaroos and a broken wrist.
“Everyone knows by now. A kangaroo jumped into the peloton, causing half the peloton to hit the ground. It made news worldwide, but it would be nice if the sport were known for something other than a kangaroo jumping in front of the riders. It is what it is,” Vine told Sporza Tuesday after a second day of racing in northern Spain.
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The Tour Down Under was more than eventful for his UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad, with his teammates Jhonathan Narváez and Vegard Stake Laengen suffering injuries on stage 4 which took them out of the race. Narváez is still recovering from several thoracic vertebrae fractures. The kangaroo crash also brought down Mikkel Bjerg, who has not raced since.
“It would be nice to get a result, but I don’t think I’m at a high enough level yet to compete with these guys. We have João [Almeida] and Brandon [McNulty] who are doing very well. The goal is to support them.”
