In April this yr, Australian rider Jay Vine was mendacity in intensive care, a brace round his neck.
He had fractures in his cervical and thoracic backbone.
His cranium too was cracked, following his devastating crash on the Itzulia Basque Nation, a crash that had repercussions all through your complete biking season.
Now, simply 5 months after fearing for his means to stroll and play together with his then-unborn son, Vine is again on high of the world, a part of a trio of Australian riders taking centre stage on the Vuelta a España.
The 28-year-old Queenslander is sporting the polka dot jersey as king of the mountains.
Beaming with satisfaction as he took to the rostrum in Lagos de Covadonga, Vine would have been crammed with reduction that he even had the flexibility to journey at this stage once more, not to mention succeed.
Jay Vine will put on the polka dots on benefit on stage 17. (Getty Pictures: Tim de Waele)
His fellow countryman Ben O’Connor is within the crimson jersey, having led the race general for 11 days — probably the most by any Australian at any grand tour in historical past.
As well as, Kaden Groves is sporting inexperienced because the chief of the factors jersey.
The three main classifications jerseys are all in Australian fingers.
Given there have solely ever been 12 cases of an Australian sporting one of many three main jerseys at a grand tour in historical past, that is some achievement.
Solely three Australians have ever received the mountains classification at any of the grand excursions: Matthew Lloyd (2010 Giro), Simon Clarke (2012 Vuelta) and Michael Storer (2021 Vuelta).
There’s admittedly a level of fortune about how each he and Groves discovered themselves on the very high of their respective leaderboards.
Wout van Aert, runaway chief and champion elect within the inexperienced jersey competitors, was additional extending his lead within the king of the mountains classification with one other gorgeous efficiency on stage 16 till he crashed closely on the descent of Collada Llomena.
It was a crash that dominated him out of the race instantly and left each classifications huge open, albeit in a bitter manner.
Wout van Aert was compelled to desert after a nasty crash of his personal. (Getty Pictures: Tim de Waele)
“I did not count on in any respect to get the inexperienced jersey,” Groves, winner of two phases at this yr’s race, and the one ever Australian winner of the factors jersey on the Vuelta (in 2023) stated.
“Wout [van Aert] had such a convincing lead within the factors classification and, coming into the race, I knew it might be tremendous doubtless that he takes the inexperienced [all the way to the finish in Madrid].
“It is a fairly horrible technique to put on the inexperienced.”
Vine echoed these sentiments, after Van Aert dominated the Aussie within the mountains earlier than his crash, saying it was “Completely not the best way I wished to take the polka dots” on the conclusion of the stage.
“It is an actual disgrace to see Wout exit the best way he has, you by no means need to take a frontrunner’s jersey on this manner,” Vine wrote on Instagram, throughout which he celebrated a stage win for teammate Marc Soler.
“We’ll proceed specializing in stage wins for the workforce, while additionally making an attempt to take care of mountain jersey. Here is to 5 extra alternatives!”
However whereas Groves was sombre-faced when he collected the jersey, Vine was beaming a large grin. What these polka dots symbolize have to be much more vital to Vine, an indication of how far he has come since being confined to that hospital mattress in April.
Jay Vine was cleared of long-term harm after his stunning crash. (Instagram: @jay_vine3)
Vine’s profession trajectory has been barely totally different to most within the skilled peloton.
He has gone from successful the 2020 Zwift Academy program — a program that goals to offer aspiring riders an opportunity to win a spot on a World Tour workforce — to successful a few of biking’s largest prizes on the highway.
Certainly, Vine is not any stranger to the blue and white polka dots — he wore it for 10 phases on the 2022 Vuelta, the place he additionally received two phases — earlier than shedding it in a crash.
“I misplaced the KOM [king of the mountains] jersey again in 2022 as a result of a crash out of the race,” Vine wrote in his Instagram publish.
“So I do know precisely the way it feels. I hope his accidents aren’t something too severe, and wishing him a speedy restoration!”
That was Vine’s breakout yr, successful the general classification on the Étoile de Bessèges, coming second on the Excursions of Turkey and Norway and successful the UCI Esports World Championships, incomes him a transfer to UAE Crew Emirates.
Together with his new workforce, Vine received the general prize on the Tour Down Beneath and the mountains classification on the Tour of Turkey the next yr, in addition to the nationwide time trial championships.
Two time trial wins on the Vuelta a Burgos and Paris-Good firstly of 2024 saved his highway profession rolling, whereas his spouse Bre was anticipating their first baby.
All in all, issues have been wanting excellent.
Then all of it got here to an abrupt halt in a concrete ditch within the Basque Nation.
Bre travelled via the night time to be at Vine’s bedside, the place docs emphasised simply how fortunate it was that Vine did not undergo accidents worse than these he had, given the severity of the incident.
“Simply cannot imagine that I’ll nonetheless be capable of stroll and play with my youngsters in the future,” Vine stated every week after the crash.
“It was fairly scary for a few days once we weren’t positive if surgical procedure or neurological issues may current themselves.
“Lengthy highway forward for my restoration, however I’m wanting ahead to getting the method rolling.”
It is protected to say it has been rolling alongside fairly properly.
Jay Vine has been extremely lively for UAE Crew Emirates. (Getty Pictures: Dario Belingheri)
Vine rode into rivalry for the mountains jersey simply because the race reached its second relaxation day, battling to be stage on factors with van Aert.
The Australian wore the jersey on mortgage from van Aert on stage 16 because the Belgian can’t put on each and protocol dictates that the factors jersey takes desire.
However now Vine owns it outright and may put on it with satisfaction on Tuesday’s 141.5km journey from Arnuero to Santander — a stage that’s comparatively flat, with simply two categorised climbs, a relative luxurious on this most mountainous of Vueltas.
Regardless of the fortune, the 28-year-old had battled so arduous to work himself into rivalry, because of somewhat further motivation.
“Yesterday was Father’s Day in Australia, and I had my son born the day earlier than I got here to La Vuelta,” Vine wrote on Instagram, becoming a member of O’Connor in being a brand new father at this Vuelta.
“So right now is a reasonably big day for me, and I wished to make right now depend, whether or not that was with a stage win for the workforce or taking KOM factors.
“Once we look again in ten years and I clarify to him that I could not be there with him however it was due to all this, I believe it is going to be one thing very particular.”
Given there was a really actual probability that Vine might not have been right here in any respect, given the severity of the Basque Nation crash, your complete Vine household can have far fonder recollections of Spain in 2024, no matter occurs within the subsequent 5 days.
