If the sight of Jay Vine playing a key role for UAE Team Emirates XRG teammate Tadej Pogačar on the mountains of Andorra and Valencia in the Vuelta a España felt a shade unusual to viewers, that has an explanation.
Although the 31-year-old Australian has had that star climbing support role for Pogačar on various occasions in the Classics, including Il Lombardia, this year's Vuelta is the first time Vine has supported Pogačar in any kind of stage race, let alone a Grand Tour.
However, that's all changed, and big time in this year's Vuelta a España, where Vine has already proved instrumental in Pogačar's climbing support squad in Andorra on stage 4.
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The Pyrenean mini-state was where Vine took one of his four stage wins in the Vuelta last year and is where he has his European residence. But he was back in the thick of the climbing action, too, on stage 6 through the mountains of north-west Valencia, up to and including the crunch ascent of the Puerto del Bartolo.
Vine had a difficult first half of the year, starting with a heavy fall and injuries in Australia at the Tour Down Under, followed by another bad crash in Catalunya and then a third bad crash and yet more serious injuries in the Giro d'Italia,
But as Vine told Cyclingnews, the Vuelta and working for Pogačar is where he can finally get the ball rolling in 2026.
"I'm happy with how my form's going, it's also really nice to be in a team with the red jersey already in week 1 and hopefully that continues throughout the race," Vine said.
"With Tadej before here, I've only done this kind of work in one-day races, but not in Grand Tours, and not stage races, either."
"I was supposed to do this with him in the Giro d'Italia a couple of years ago, but I sort of broke my neck in the Basque Country" - in the same big crash where riders like Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) were amongst the dozens badly injured.
"But we've done Lombardia and Emilia a couple of times. We're pretty good together."
Despite the triumph in the Tour Down Under for a second time, globally the 2026 season has been a tough one, given his falls and injuries in the first five months. But Vine says it's good to get the ball rolling for real in Spain.
"I've had a few peaks this year but not [had the chance to] show the form. Hopefully, I can do this through this race and actually get a start to my season."
"On a personal level, I couldn't be happier for Jay and how he's going here because he's had to suffer a lot," UAE Team Emirates-XRG head of sport Joxean Fernández Matxin told Cyclingnews when asked about his performances to date in the 2026 Vuelta.
"He's a real tough guy, he crashes, he gets back up again, he crashes, he gets back on again. And when he does get back on again, he's not scared of being in the peloton on the descents. We need to be publicly grateful for his courage, his willpower and above all his professionality."
"He knows what it means to win stages and fight for success, and to be so willing to work for Tadej the way he does is something very really special. We have to be very proud of him."
Compared with his Vuelta form in 2025, Vine says last year he only began to start firing on all engines on stage 6 - the first fully mountainous day into Andorra - whereas this time round, he's already hitting the heights. "So we'll see how the race develops and if it gets better or worse from here."
Very encouragingly, he was already in searing form on the short, punchy stage through Andorra, helping to set things up for Pogačar as last man in the line before the Slovenian took off on a 50 kilometre breakaway to glory.
"I know all the roads in Andorra, so I was able to guide him into the bottom of Beixalis" - the climb where Pogačar launched his attack. "The goal was to be pretty much in the front and string it out from the beginning, so he doesn't get swamped in the first parts of climbs.
"Then we'd talked about how when they began sprinting in the 12, 13, 14% sections, I needed to get him onto the wheel so he could do his thing.
"It's one of those climbs when drafting doesn't matter, and sure enough after six minutes into the 15-minute effort, he was off solo."
Rather than there being any thoughts of stage wins for the teammates - the Vuelta has only just begun - Vine says his main aim is to be working "on the day by day. I want to get to Granada and to see my family again."
In the meantime, Vine is in the privileged but hard-earned place of working with the number 1 racer in the world, guiding Pogačar through the climbs to a point where he can take off to make a bid for lone glory.
"We get clear instructions from the briefing in the morning before the stage, then after that we go with what we're feeling on the road," Vine explained.
"He doesn't need to speak to me on the radio, 'cos he's right there, riding right behind me. He's a pretty chill guy."
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