Climbing sensation Jay Vine beats back rumors of move from Alpecin-Deceuninck
Double Vuelta a España stage-winner deflects transfer speculation after reports of move to UAE Emirates for 2023.
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
Alpecin-Deceuninck climbing sensation Jay Vine deflected transfer speculation Monday.
Vine beat back the rumors of a move to UAE Team Emirates when asked by VeloNews in a call Monday morning.
“I’ve got a contract with Alpecin-Deceuninck until the end of ’23. I did get some contacts from some teams after stage eight of the Vuelta, but nothing came from those chats, no,” Vine confirmed.
Murmurs in recent days indicated Vine was set to break from the team that put him into the pro ranks last winter.
Hot off the back of a standout Vuelta a España that scored him two mountaintop stage wins, Vine would make for a key cog in the climber train of any top GC contender – including double Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar.
Also read:
Meanwhile, UAE Team Emirates has been busy this winter bolstering its already brimming roster.
Adam Yates, Tim Wellens, and Felix Großschartner all join for 2023 to bring even more workhorses and wingmen for Pogačar, João Almeida, Juan Ayuso, and Brandon McNulty.
But it seems – for now at least – that Vine won’t be joining the Emirati climber roster as he commits to the WorldTour-bound Alpecin-Deceuninck.
The Belgium-based team will boost up to WorldTour status next year after flying high in the 2020-2022 points-hunting cycle.
Grand tour stage wins from Vine, Jasper Philipsen and Mathieu van der Poel sit next to the latter’s comeback victory at Tour of Flanders in a 34-win haul for 2022 that helped leave the team eighth overall in the UCI’s three-year points ranking.
Next year, Vine look set to be joined at Alpecin-Deceuninck by new recruits Søren Kragh Andersen, Quinten Hermans, and Kaden Groves.