Tour Down Under winner Jay Vine sustains injuries after kangaroo crash

Jay Vine can look back on a successful Santos Tour Down Under – the Australian won the overall classification – but will still have a bitter aftertaste from his home race. The UAE Emirates XRG rider sustained a fracture from his crash in the final stage.

Vine went down with just under a hundred kilometers to go, shortly after a kangaroo jumped onto the road. The action of the marsupial caused multiple riders to crash, including his teammate Mikkel Bjerg, the Dutchman Menno Huising of Visma | Lease a Bike, and Italian sprinter Alberto Dainese (Soudal Quick-Step).

Vine was able to continue riding, secured the overall victory later on, and seemed to have escaped unscathed. Emphasis on seemed, as his team UAE Emirates XRG has bad news. "After the race, Jay clearly experienced wrist pain as a result of the crash in the last stage," team doctor Adrian Rotunno points out.

"After medical examination, we now know that Jay has a serious fracture in the scaphoid bone of his left wrist. He underwent successful surgery on Tuesday morning and will withdraw from competition in order to recover and rehabilitate following the operation."

Tough week for UAE Emirates XRG
Despite Vine’s overall win, his team UAE Emirates XRG will look back on the Tour Down Under with little pleasure. Vine is not the only rider who has suffered serious injuries from the six-day tour of Australia. His teammates Jhonatan Narváez (multiple vertebral fractures) and Mikkel Bjerg (fractures in the acromioclavicular joint and his hand) will also be out of action for an extended period.