Jay Vine. Photo: AFP
Jay Vine has claimed a second career Tour Down Under title, but it was not without drama after he was taken out by a kangaroo mid-way through the sixth and final stage.
With 100 kilometres remaining of the 170km stage, a kangaroo caused chaos in the peloton, taking out the race leader and a handful of others on the circuit around Stirling.
"Everyone asks me what's the most dangerous thing in Australia and I always tell them it's the kangaroos," a relieved Vine told Seven News at the finish.
"They wait and they hide in the bushes until you can't stop and then they jump out in front of you.
"Point proven today - two of them blasted through the peloton as we were doing 50km/h.
"One of them stopped, went left, right, left, right, left, right and then I ended up hitting its backside as it was flaying around on the ground.
"It's one of those things, bad luck, but luckily I'm OK and was able to hang onto the jersey.
"There's only so much you can do."
Vine was able to quickly remount and, after a bike change, was back on his way, eventually finishing safely in the main group behind British star Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a bike), who won a blistering sprint to the line after a brutal stage that included almost 3,000 metres of climbing.
New Zealand's Finn Fisher-Black was beaten into second place on the final stage and finished fourth overall in the race for the sprinter classification title.
