In Australia, pros spent the week at the Tour Down Under watching the road for potholes, corners and crosswinds — not bounding wildlife. But on the final day of racing, it was a kangaroo that nearly derailed Jay Vine’s championship ride.
Vine took his second TDU title, but almost had some marsupial interference. With 95.5 km remaining, kangaroos leapt from the roadside bush and straight into the peloton, sending multiple riders to the deck — including the race leader.
The incident briefly neutralized the bunch and left riders scattered across the road in a scene that left commentators at a loss for words. Vine emerged shaken but quickly swapped bikes and rode his way back into the main group.
“People always ask what the most dangerous thing in Australia is,” Vine said post-race on ABC Australia. “I tell them it’s kangaroos. They wait until it’s too late to stop.”
Video footage later showed two separate kangaroo incidents on the 170-km stage, with riders saying the animals appeared to throw themselves into the race. Up front, the race eventually settled. Visma – Lease a Bike’s Matthew Brennan sprinted to the win, while Vine finished safely in the bunch in 26th.
Oakville’s Michael Leonard had a tough finish to an otherwise strong week. Seventh overall heading into the stage, the EF Education–EasyPost rider slipped to 33rd after finishing 77th on the day, but still took second in the young rider classification.
After the race, Vine let commentators in on a little secret about what non-Aussies always ask him.
“Everyone asks me what’s the most dangerous thing in Australia. And I always tell them it’s the kangaroos,” Vine said to ABC Australia. “The point was proven today.”
Vine described the surreal split-second decision-making as the animals zig-zagged across the road at race speed.
“They wait in the bushes until you can’t stop, then jump out. One stopped, went left, right, left, right — and I ended up hitting its backside,” he said. “Bad luck, but I was lucky to be OK.”
Several riders were forced to abandon with injuries, while sadly, one kangaroo was euthanized and the other escaped, apparently unharmed. The poor roo that was put down apparently had a broken leg–as the footage suggested Since a kangaroo with a severely broken leg has little chance of recovery in the wild, veterinarians may euthanize the animal to prevent prolonged pain, suffering, and an inability to survive on its own, according…
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