Vine witnessed Landa’s horror crash up close and considered abandoning Giro: "My thoughts are with Mikel"

In recent years, Vine has crashed often, and often with serious consequences. In the 2023 Vuelta a España, he suffered an elbow injury that forced him to withdraw. A year earlier, another crash in the Vuelta ended his race and cost him the chance to carry the mountains jersey to Madrid. In 2023, he also missed several months due to a knee injury sustained in the UAE Tour.

The DNSs and DNFs on his record have become too numerous to count, with the dramatic crash at the 2024 Tour of the Basque Country standing out as the low point. Vine broke two vertebrae and a cervical vertebra in that incident, sidelining him for months. That’s why he feels extra sympathy for Mikel Landa, who crashed in the same corner on day one and also fractured vertebrae. The Soudal-Quick Step rider had to abandon, while Vine was fortunately able to continue.

In his Instagram post, Jay Vine mainly reflected on Mikel Landa’s misfortune. Like Vine, the experienced climber will now be sidelined for a long time, especially during the tough early phase of recovery, lying still in a stable position. “My thoughts are with Mikel. It’s awful to see him out of the race. I know all too well what it’s like to break a vertebra, it’s incredibly tough. I wish Mikel a strong and speedy recovery.”

For Vine himself, it was also a matter of picking up the pieces. “This wasn’t the Grand Tour start I had in mind. I tried to save energy all day and stayed out of trouble, until the race exploded with 5 km to go and things got chaotic on the descent. A few riders crashed, including Landa right in front of me. I managed to avoid him, but got hit hard from behind. I wasn’t sure I could even start stage 2, but my knee feels much better now, so I’ll be there.”