Jay Vine has taken one other main step on his outstanding comeback to biking by making the rostrum in thrd place at certainly one of European biking’s high stage races, the Tour de Romandie.
The robust Australian, whose profession was within the stability final 12 months after a horror crash on the tour of the Basque Nation, put in a terrific final-day time trial within the Swiss race on Sunday to seize his first total podium place at a WorldTour occasion since profitable the Tour Down Underneath again house initially of 2023.
It demonstrated the 29-year-old Queenslander is returning to close his best type as he approaches subsequent week’s first Grand Tour of the 12 months, the Giro d’Italia, as a part of a robust Australian line-up.
Vine’s UAE Staff Emirates Portuguese teammate Joao Almeida took the general win after ending second within the 17.1km time trial round Geneva which was gained by double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel, who’s additionally on the highway again to his imperious finest after struggling a number of damaged bones in a coaching accident final 12 months.
Vine, winner of the third stage in good vogue, had been fourth total going into this fifth and remaining stage, needing to claw again half-a-minute on the main trio of Frenchman Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious), Italian Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana) and Almeida, who had been separated by simply three seconds within the GC.
Almeida produced an excellent experience to complete second within the TT, solely bettered by almost 12 seconds by Evenepoel (20:33), and seal the victory, whereas Martinez needed to battle to maintain maintain of second place total with the thirteenth quickest effort of the day.
Ultimately, Martinez managed to maintain the charging Vine (20:57) at bay by simply 15 seconds however the Australian comfortably leapfrogged the struggling Fortunato into third.
Vine, who was the primary Australian to make the Romandie podium since Richie Porte completed runner-up in 2021, additionally managed to take house the orange jersey as factors classification victor, forward of his teammate Almeida.
It was the best enhance for him earlier than travelling to Albania for the beginning of the Giro d’Italia on Friday, the place he’ll be joined in a possible 13-strong Australian contingent that additionally options Tour of the Alps winner Michael Storer, 2022 Giro champ Jai Hindley and eight-time Grand Tour stage winner Kaden Groves.
