Jay Vine lines out at the Vuelta a Burgos on Monday, marking his return to competition for the first time since he was seriously injured in the mass crash at Itzulia Basque Country in April.
The five-day Vuelta a Burgos is the key build-up race for the Vuelta a España, and the field includes Sepp Kuss, Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma-Lease a Bike), Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) and Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek).
The Australian suffered multiple fractures to his vertebrae in the crash, including a cervical fracture and two thoracic spine vertebral body fractures.
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Vine was one of a number of riders injured in the mass crash on the descent of the Olaeta on stage 4 of Itzulia Basque Country, with Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, Primoz Roglic and Steff Cras also among the fallers.
Although Vine did not require surgery to treat his injury, his rehabilitation was lengthy. He was cleared to begin gentle rides outdoors at the end of May, but he was only permitted to ride on descents again from the beginning of July.
On Monday, UAE Team Emirates confirmed that Vine would race this week’s Vuelta a Burgos, where Rafal Majka leads the team.
“I’m really excited to be racing the Vuelta Burgos, my first race back,” Vine said.
“I’m looking forward to be getting back into the peloton with the guys and back into the swing of things again. It’s been a pretty rough past four months and I’ve missed out on a lot of racing but I’m hoping to return to my best and back to normality.”
Vine had been scheduled to ride the Giro d'Italia in 2024 in support of Tadej Pogačar. It it not yet known if he will now line out at the Vuelta a España.
The UAE Team Emirates squad in Burgos is completed by Igor Arrieta, Finn Fisher Black, Alvaro Hodeg and Duarte Marivoet, who has been promoted from the development team for the occasion.
