Jay Vine to skip Tour Down Under title defence, later season targets draw focus

WILLUNGA AUSTRALIA JANUARY 21 Jay Vine of Australia and UAE Team Emirates Orange Leader Jersey reacts after the 23rd Santos Tour Down Under 2023 Stage 4 a 1332km stage from Port Willunga to Willunga Township 138m TourDownUnder WorldTour on January 21 2023 in Willunga Australia Photo by Daniel KaliszGetty Images
Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) wearing the ochre jersey of the race leader at the 2023 Tour Down Under (Image credit: Getty Images)

UAE Team Emirates rider Jay Vine will not be defending his Tour Down Under title in January, with the rider from Canberra who successfully stormed through the summer racing in Australia in 2023 opting to build for later season targets in 2024 instead.

Vine said that as he will be riding in both the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España next year so, particularly given his late finish to this season, will not be taking part in his home country’s only WorldTour stage race.

Alasdair Fotheringham

Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews, he has also written for The IndependentThe GuardianProCycling, The Express and Reuters.