Australian bike owner Jay Vine obtained three stitches to his brow after a crash within the UCI World Championships time trial left him bloodied and bruised.
The 28-year-old completed fifth within the occasion, received by Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel, crossing the road with blood pouring down his face and rips to the left aspect of his skinsuit, with the incident not seen on TV. Writing on Instagram afterwards, Vine mentioned he was “gutted” and “heartbroken” by the crash.
“It is intestine wrenching to suppose what might have been,” he wrote. “Foolish mistake on a non-technical part of the course price me probably the bronze medal. I simply went right into a nook quicker than I did within the course recon and ran out of street. Easy as that.
“I will be beating myself up about this one for some time. Heartbroken. fifth place continues to be good, however in the intervening time I am gutted. Sorry crew, I actually tried.”
Later that night, Vine posted a picture to his Instagram tales, exhibiting himself with a small variety of contemporary stitches to his forehead.
The Australian’s accidents had been laid out on Monday in an replace from his UAE Workforce Emirates medical director, Dr Adrian Rotunno, which learn: “Fortunately [Vine] suffered no concussions or fractures. Laceration to left aspect of brow (fastened with 3 stitches at native hospital) and superficial abrasions to his shoulder.
“He ought to be cleared to compete within the street race subsequent weekend.”
Vine’s crash got here within the remaining 10km of the 46.1km course, and was not picked up by the cameras. The Australian clocked in third quickest to the second and third intermediate time checks, behind silver medallist Filippo Ganna and eventual winner Evenepoel, earlier than mysteriously shedding time.
When he appeared on the end line, his battered look made it clear he had hit the tarmac within the latter moments of his effort. He pulled up afterwards, reached for a towel from his soigneur, and calmly dabbed the blood off his face.
Earlier this yr, Vine hung out in intensive care after he suffered three spinal fractures in a crash at April’s Itzulia Basque Nation. He missed 4 months of racing, earlier than returning on the Vuelta a Burgos, the place he received the time trial on stage 4. Vine then went on to win the mountains classification on the Vuelta a España.
“The crew has been in fixed contact to attempt to get me prepared with all the things,” he mentioned after his victory on the Vuelta a Burgos. “4 months in the past, I used to be within the ICU, not removed from right here truly. To be on the highest step of a stage in a time trial, after what I went via, is unbelievable.”
The photographs of Vine’s Worlds crash recalled related ones of Stefan Küng ultimately yr’s European Championships. The Swiss rider crashed right into a metallic barrier on the occasion, and completed with a cracked helmet and blood-spattered jersey. He was later revealed to have suffered fractures to his jaw and hand, in addition to a minor concussion.
