Clichés, kids and the best baked beans in the world
We recently caught up with pro cyclist Jay Vine during a summer back home in Australia with his family, as he gears up for the 2026 season. After a standout year with WorldTour stage wins and national accolades, Jay shared reflections on racing, fatherhood, what fuels his success, and a few classic off-bike moments.
Fuelling Up
Jay kicked off his day with a 150km ride and some Aussie carb-loading, then faced our hard-hitting, philosophical warm up questions like, 'Is a hot dog a sandwich?' and 'What is your favourite recovery snack?" Following a rave review of his wife Bre's homemade baked beans, we moved on to discuss his cycling life – from clichés to climbs, and how he keeps calm amidst the chaos.
Winning Mindset
Jay's come a long way since his time as teenager in Canberra with big dreams putting his own hard-earned cash on the line just to get to races, but even since going pro he's had his fair share of challenges to deal with.
While he can laugh about it now, Jay recalled from his first year on tour, "I only had one pair of cycling shoes. I rocked up to the Vuelta, and I'd packed my cycling shoes in my checked bag. And the checked bag didn't arrive..." Of course, he now always takes his shoes as carry on!
While Jay laments that, "Basically anything that can go wrong does go wrong to me”, he's made the most of that and taken every opportunity to learn the hard lessons, keep a clear head to find solutions and just get on with racing.
This determination to never give up has never been more admirable than when a crash in 2024 left him with life threatening injuries, from which he clawed his way back to form with sensational grit. But Jay's mindset is no accident. "Probably my biggest asset is, I've worked with a sports psychologist over the last three years now, and, breathing... like, deep breaths. Just staying relaxed."
Winding Down with Family
Jay spoke fondly about growing up in a big family and openly about plans for his own growing family. "A lot of the stuff I'm excited to do (with my son) is like, kick a ball and play backyard cricket. Just little things."
Speaking of how life on the road has changed with Harrison in tow, Jay confessed his road trip motto beforehand was… “much to my wife's chagrin, we’ll stop when we need gas, and only then we get food, bathroom breaks," but continued, unsurprisingly, "Harrison doesn't allow us to do that anymore..."
And packing the car has required some adjustment too. "The back of cars just fill up, and that's just my stuff. But now I've got a son… it's like six nappies a day that we're up to now!"
No Place Like Home
Though he grew up in northern Queensland, Jay now lives in Andorra, which he says reminds him of the 10 years he spent in Canberra before going pro. "You can be in the countryside in about ten minutes in Canberra. There's so many green spaces, trees, all that sort of stuff. And Andorra is very similar. You head up one of these climbs and after 2km all the houses stop. And you've just got nature all around you… It's really spectacular."
Back home for summer, Jay spoke fondly of his plans to soak up family time between races.
To top it off, Bre and Harrison will get a little closer to the action for January’s Tour Down Under in Adelaide, than in Europe, where they usually just watch on TV.
Always the planner, he's got a solid strategy to ensure they stay cool out there too. "My wife’s going to park up roadside with the Yakima awning out and a kiddie pool. Harrison will play, keep cool, and then — 'Oh look, Dad’s gone past!'"
The big reveal (and a little one too!)
After the chat, we headed outside to check out Jay’s car, which our crew had been busy kitting out with a new Yakima roof box, OverNOut awning and StageTwo bike rack.
And it turns out, Jay’s car wasn’t the only thing getting an upgrade. A few weeks after we caught up, Jay and Bre shared that baby number two is due to debut in June 2026.
With the daily nappy tally set to climb again, that Yakima roof box will come in handy.
Congrats Jay, and all the best to you and the crew for the season ahead!
Jay’s Ute Setup:
StageTwo 2 Bike Carrier + LightMate
EasyTrip Roof Box
OverNOut 180 Awning
TrimHD Bars
Follow Jay’s summer racing adventures on Instagram @jay_vine3 or find him on Strava and see where the road takes him next.
