Nat Bromhead
Aussie pro and 2020 Zwift Academy Winner Jay Vine has notched up his first professional victory, none other than Stage 6 of the Vuelta in Spain.
Emerging from the mist on the steep mountain finish, Vine finished 15 seconds ahead of 2nd placed Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl).
“It’s almost unreal … I missed the break, I had a flat tyre in the first 5km,” exclaimed a thrilled Vine from the mountaintop after the finish.
“It’s unreal to be able to do it from the GC group in the last 10km. I’ve been working so much this year after coming so close last year,” he continued.
Heavy Rain, Brutal Finish
Much of the 180km stage was raced in heavy rain and culminated with the brutal Pico Jano summit, the first mountaintop finish of this year’s race.
Jay Vine said “I was able to manage my effort and pace the climb pretty handily. [In the last km], I thought about my wife who’s basically done everything for me in the last 3 or 4 years to get me to this point.”
Evenepoel went into the Red Jersey and now leads the race, and said “I’m really happy and proud to be the leader.”
“What I’m showing today is maybe one of the best things I’ve done on the bike,” Evenepoel added … which says a lot about Aussie legend Jay Vine.
