Team reveals TDU champ’s injuries after kangaroo collision
Tour Down Under champion Jay Vine won the event after being caught up in a crash involving two kangaroos. Now his team has revealed the extent of his injuries.
Australia’s Jay Vine won the Tour Down Under with a fractured wrist that will now sideline him from racing.
Vine was hurt after being caught up in a crash involving two kangaroos during the final stage of the Tour in Adelaide and surrounds last Sunday.
The 30-year-old had surgery on Tuesday and will miss this weekend’s Cadel Evans Great Ocean Race.
Vine’s UAE Team Emirates-XRG says a timeline for the Australian’s return remains unknown.
“After the race, Jay reported pain in his wrist from his crash during the final stage,” team medical director Adrian Rotunno said in a statement on Wednesday.
“After medical review, it was found that he sustained a significant left wrist scaphoid fracture, and underwent successful surgery on Tuesday morning.
“He will be withdrawn from competition for post-op recovery and rehabilitation.”
Vine was among several riders who crashed when two kangaroos jumped on to the course with about 95km remaining on the Tour’s last stage.
He needed a bike change as a result but continued on to claim his second Tour triumph, repeating his 2023 feat.
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“All the Europeans ask me what’s the most dangerous animal in Australia, I always tell them it’s the kangaroos,” Vine said after his victory.
“They wait in the bushes until you cannot stop and then they jump out in front of you.”
The Tour Down Under was the opening event of the 2026 World Tour, which continues on Sunday with the Great Ocean Road Race in Victoria.
The weekend men’s and women’s events will go ahead despite extreme heat and bushfire risks forcing organisers to cancel the Surf Coast Classic races in Victoria scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.
-with AAP
