Battered and bloodied from another crash, luckless Australian cyclist Jay Vine says he'll keep beating himself up even more over the medal that got away at the world championships in Zurich.
Australia's 2023 national time trial champion looked on his way to his first world gong during the elite men's race on Sunday, lying third in the standings and seemingly getting stronger in the final 10km of the 29.9km course, when he took a corner too fast and crashed.
The TV cameras did not pick up the accident, but Vine's grimace and ripped, dirt-caked skinsuit told its own story at the finish as he crossed the line with his face covered in blood.
The 28-year-old remounted after the accident and continued his battle against the clock, performing well enough despite his injuries to finish fifth, covering the 46.1km course in 54min 26.16sec, only half a minute down on the bronze medallist, Italy's Edoardo Affini.
Belgian superstar Remco Evenepoel, the double Olympic champion, retained his title in 53:01.98.
"It's gut wrenching to think what could have been," wrote Vine later on social media, while offering up no specifics of his injuries.
"Silly mistake on a non technical section of the course cost me potentially the bronze medal.
"I just went into a corner faster than I did in the course recon and ran out of road. Simple as that.
"I'm going to be beating myself up about this one for a while. Heart broken. 5th place is still good, but for the time being I'm gutted. Sorry team, I really tried."
It was another huge setback for the resilient but often ill-starred 28-year-old Townsville-born rider, who in April suffered a fall at the Tour of the Basque Country that left him with spinal injuries and made him initially fear he would never walk again.
Feeling fortunate to avoid surgery and after a long, painful spell of rehab, Vine made an uplifting comeback four months later, even going on to win the King of the Mountains jersey at Spain's Grand Tour, La Vuelta, just a fortnight ago.
In a typically-eventful spell for the man who got his fairytale big break by winning a competition on an indoor turbo trainer that earned him a pro team contract, Vine also celebrated becoming a father to a baby boy last month.
There has been no confirmation yet whether he will be ready to compete in either the mixed team relay on Wednesday or Sunday's elite men's road race.
