Jay Vine has said he won't be targeting a general classification finish at this year's Giro d'Italia, despite UAE Team Emirates-XRG not arriving with their originally planned leader, João Almeida.
The Australian has long been talked of as a potential man for the three-week races, with enough climbing talent to win four Vuelta a España stages in his career already, and the time trialling ability which saw him finish second behind only Remco Evenepoel at the last UCI Road World Championships in Kigali.
But results in a Grand Tour never materialised, with Vine's seven three-week race appearances so far ending with three DNFs and no GC standing better than 30th at the end of the 21 stages.
Be it crashes, bad luck, or simply targeting stages from the break, the overall has never really been Vine's ambition, and that will continue at the incoming Giro, which kicks off in Bulgaria this Friday.
Speaking at the team presentation in Burgas on Wednesday, Vine said plainly to Cyclingnews that "I don't think that's something that I'll be doing at this race," when asked if he had GC ambitions, with Adam Yates expected to be the Emirati team's sole leader in Almeida's absence.
"No, [Almeida pulling out] hasn't really changed my role. It's disappointing not having João here because I think he had a good chance to do a good race, but it's more opportunities for the team. I don't think it's going to change our plans much; we'll see what happens."
It's been a stop-start 2026 season for Vine so far, to say the least, with his national time trial title and GC victory at the Tour Down Under in January being followed by a long period out due to a fractured scaphoid [wrist], which he suffered in the bizarre kangaroo-caused crash on the final stage.
Vine then got back to racing at the Volta a Catalunya in March, but this return quickly ended with a crash on the third stage, and then followed another period of rehab for his wrist and his build-up to the Giro at altitude in Sierra Nevada.
The 30-year-old opened up about this on his Instagram on April 18, saying, "[I] Haven’t shared much lately, not for lack of updates, just been busy juggling training, rehab appointments, and family time. But everything’s moving in the right direction. With the Giro d’Italia coming up in a few weeks, I’m getting excited to pin a number on again."
Now that the time for racing is only two days away, Vine is ready to get stuck in once again, albeit with only 11 race days under his belt in 2026.
"I think I'm pretty good. I've had a long time at home, so I'm feeling pretty mentally fresh," he said, before commenting on the reality of the sacrifices he's had to make in getting back in top shape ahead of the Giro.
"It's just about focusing on the next goals, short and long-term, but there aren't many hours outside of all the rehab to be able to spend a lot of time enjoying life. But it is what it is."
In reality, Vine's focus is really on one stage and one stage only – the stage 10 time trial from Viareggio to Massa, where 42 km of flat roads will be battled over by the likes of him and Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers).
Easily one of the best operators against the clock in the world, Vine is yet to win a time trial at a Grand Tour or even at the WorldTour level. Don't be surprised to see him push Ganna to the absolute limit and challenge for victory on that day.
"I'm really looking forward to the TT on stage 10, 42 km, dead flat. I've worked really hard on it, on the position as well with the Australian team in the summer, and we've tried a few things," he said.
What does success look like for Vine at the 2026 Giro? "The time trial, doing a good result there. But I'm also looking forward to getting to Rome and hopefully seeing my family, that'll be nice."
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