News | Santos Tour Down Under | Team • January 20, 2026
Jay Vine takes fourth place in Santos Tour Down Under prologue
Recently-crowned Australian National Time Trial Champion makes a positive start to the first WorldTour race of the season, finishing just four seconds down
On the first day of the 2026 WorldTour season, Jay Vine picked up fourth place for UAE Team Emirates-XRG in the Santos Tour Down Under prologue. Raced across just 3.6km in the centre of Adelaide, Australia, Samuel Watson of Ineos Grenadiers won the speedy test against the clock.
The British specialist completed the course in four minutes and 16 seconds, forcing Ethan Vernon (NSN Cycling Team) and Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) into second and third, respectively. As for Vine, the recently-crowned Australian National Time Trial Champion came home just four seconds down on the day’s winner.
For the former Tour Down Under winner, the result marks a great start to the week’s proceedings, with the true tests yet to come. Vine will be hoping to combine with teammates Jhonatan Narváez and Adam Yates to make a tilt at the general classification once more, with all three riders sitting within 20 seconds of the race lead after Tuesday’s teaser.
The prologue route was one for the specialists, with a technical route making for a harder test than it first appeared. It was Vine’s first outing in the green and gold of his national champion’s jersey, and the 30-year-old kept a consistent rhythm throughout his short burst, with the local crowd roaring him across the line at the end.
Speaking after the finish, Vine reflected on an enjoyable evening in Adelaide, and cast an eye towards the rest of the week.
Vine: “It’s completely flat and a total power course, so I am really happy that I was able to put in a good effort and keep my gap to the other GC guys. [We are] really competitive, ready for some climbing for the rest of the week.
“It’s really good, we haven’t lost lots of time to the rest of the GC guys. Me and Jhony are still quite close, so we can go for bonus seconds, we can go for the attacking option, and really set ourselves up for a nice Stirling stage on Sunday.
“It’s really special to have the green and gold, especially having it in my country at a WorldTour race is really special. The last time I had this jersey was 2023 when I got to wear it in the Tour Down Under, so to be able to do it again is really special and something I have looked forward to all week.”
Santos Tour Down Under prologue results
1. Samuel Watson (Ineos Grenadiers) 00:04:16
2. Ethan Vernon (NSN Cycling Team) +0.59″
3. Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +2″
4. Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +4″
