Luckless Jay Vine has suffered a Giro d'Italia-ending crash, the Australian Tour Down Under champ having to be ferried to hospital following the mass accident on the second stage involving nearly 20 riders.
It was the latest misfortune for the injury-prone Vine, whose career was nearly ended by a dreadful back-breaking fall in the Tour of the Basque Country in 2024 and who was competing in his first race since another heavy crash at the Tour of Catalunya in March.
That race had in turn been the 30-year-old's first since an infamous incident in January when he battled through the final stage to claim victory in the Tour Down Under despite a crash involving a kangaroo that came bounding into the peloton.