Canberra cyclist Jay Vine sets sights on new team and Giro d'Italia win after breakout season

The kids raced ahead before doubling back for photo proof. The much older kids reminisced about how only a few years ago they were beating Vine in the Canberra A-grade competitions.

"I'm not the most outgoing person, it is a bit strange," Vine grinned. "To hear someone say these kids have your poster on their walls ... yeah, that's crazy.

"When I first proposed the idea of doing a ride with the [Canberra Cycling Club] juniors, I didn't expect that many to show up. I mean, I'm not Michael Matthews."

Vine's right. He doesn't yet have a resume to match Matthews - a Tour de France green jersey winner. But if his spectacular breakout year is anything to go by, he's following the same trajectory.

The 27-year-old won two stages of the Vuelta a Espana this year and has signed a two-year deal with Beligian team UAE Team Emirates to ride alongside two-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar.

It's been a rapid rise from his Canberra lounge room riding on the virtual cycling platform Zwift during the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020 to win his professional contract to now living in Andorra pursuing his dreams.

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But after proving he can match with the best in the world, Vine has his sights set on winning at home during the Australian summer before turning his attention to a Giro d'Italia tilt.

"Moving to a new teams brings new goals, they've definitely shifted from stage wins to a [general classification] finish, and doing that at the highest level of the sport," Vine said.

"I had to bash my head against the door a bunch of different ways, and in the end, a brand new way just to try to get my start.

"Any chance I can get to give some advice to kids whilst they have a chance to take on board ... it's definitely something I think is really important."

Vine was a relative cycling unknown at the start of last year. He signed a contract with Alpecin-Fenix after winning the Zwift Academy and he impressed enough in his debut year to earn an extension for the 2022 season.

He and wife Bre sold everything they owned to move abroad and giving professional cycling a crack, and it paid off at the Vuelta.

He blew the field away in stage six and stage eight to claim his breakthrough wins, with Australian cycling great Robbie McEwen declaring: "A new star has arrived in world cycling."

But just as quickly as he hit the top, Vine came crashing back down. He had to abandon the rest of the Vuelta after crashing on stage 18 and then couldn't recapture the same form.

"I knew I had the numbers to be able to get stage wins, so being able to put that result down on paper and confirm that I could get those was important for my career," Vine said.

"But after that I crashed [on stage 18 and couldn't finish], and then I didn't too well in Italy, that sort of was a bit of a wake up call for me as well.

"You're not always going to have the best day or the best legs, you've got to find enjoyment in just doing the process and being a teammate as well. That's important for a sustainable career.

"It's a grind and at this level if you're missing one and a half per cent, you won't be competitive. You'll just be riding around with the rest of the group."

The Vuelta wins saw Vine climb into cycling conversations despite being at the start of his career, and it forced him to reassess his ambitions.

"It didn't change the way I raced, but mentally it changed the way I approached things," Vine said.

"It was a case of definitely being there to compete for the win ... I'd come second a lot so I was already working on changing that and getting that breakthrough win.

"And when I did, it was a realisation that I'm not just a good climber, I'm one of the best climbers. I should race like it, there's a reason why people lean on you to do more work or why people are marking you specifically.

"It's not because you're a nobody, and you've got to get on with the job and deal with that."

Vine is narrowing his focus to the Giro this year, making it his No. 1 target after making the move to his new team.

But moving to a new bigger and stronger team means it's unlikely he will be required to compete in the Tour de France.

"I won't be going for all three [of the major European tours], something will have gone seriously wrong if I'm doing the [Tour de France] and I hope that doesn't happen," Vine said.

"The Giro is the main goal and the main goal is to win GC with someone on the team. It's a complete results-orientated shift from my previous exploits.

"The most prestigious part is winning GCs at grand tours. The monuments are pretty special as well, but at the end of the day the Tour de France is the sport.

"If I could get my start at the Vuelta, then the Giro and eventually go to the Tour de France, that would be brilliant."

Vine will drive to Ballarat next week to compete in the road nationals before taking on the Tour Down Under in Adelaide from January 13-20 and finishing with the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road race before returning to Europe.

Fellow Canberra star Matthews will also ride in national titles and the Tour Down Under.

"My goals are to show up and win. I'm in that sort of form to be able to compete at the top," Vine said.

"Nationals will be a tricky one because I'll be a solo rider in a field full of strong guys with teammates. But in the Tour Down Under, that's something we're capable of winning the overall in with the team we're taking."

Vine and Bre have been back in Australia since October after spending 18 months abroad due to COVID travel restrictions.

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