Kangaroo chaos at Tour Down Under as animal prompted large crash whereas leaping into peloton
The first major cycling race of the season descended into chaos when two kangaroos caused a mass pile-up during the Tour Down Under
Jay Vine went down in the crash but held on overall(Image: Getty Images)
The Tour Down Under descended into chaos during the final stage of the showpiece on Sunday when two kangaroos jumped into the peloton causing a pile up.
There was around 100km left of Stage Five, that traversed the South Adelaide hills, when the two kangaroos bounced into the road taking down Jay Vine, the ochre jersey, in the crash.
“Everything was going according to plan up until that point,” Vine said after the stage. “Sebastián [Molano] was doing a great job. The breakaway was well within reach. And then, unfortunately, we lost Mikkel, and he knocked the kangaroo into me.
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“So it was just like pinballing inside the group there. But I didn’t fall too hard.”
Vine just needed to avoid losing time on Sunday to win overall, after taking the race leaders jersey on Stage Two. He went clear on the Corkscrew, the final climb of the day, before being joined by team-mate Jonathan Navarez.
The pair crossed the line over a minute ahead of their general classification rivals. And after the queen stage over Willunga Hill was modified due to wildfires, Vine had one hand on the trophy.
After hitting the deck, Vine was supplied with his team-mate Ivo Oliveria’s bike so he could chase back to the peloton – crossing the line with the main group to win his second overall title at the Tour Down Under, the first major race of the cycling season.
Stage honours went to young British star Matthew Brennan. “You can’t really predict two kangaroos jumping across the road – I hope everyone is alright,” Brennan said after the race.
“They were quite big – I wasn’t expecting that. I just looked to the right and I saw this big animal. I thought ‘oh, you’re not meant to be here’.
“All the Aussie boys were like ‘they come in pairs’ and then all of a sudden the second one comes along and decides he’s going to throw himself in front of the peloton.
“So we had two sacrificial kangaroos today.”
While one kangaroo escaped unharmed, the other was euthanised after breaking its leg, an injury it would be unlikely to recover from in the wild.
