Canberra cyclist takes first ride after breaking his neck

But that's a good thing for the Canberra cyclist, who has taken a massive step towards a return to his professional career.

Vine fractured cervical and thoracic vertebrae in a crash in stage four of the Tour of the Basque Country in Spain at the start of April.

He remained in hospital for nine days after the accident, which included a raft of the world's top riders - including back-to-back Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard.

But after an arduous eight weeks of rehabilitation Vine was back on the bike for the first time.

His first outing came just a few days after removing his neck brace - but with one catch.

At this stage, Vine's only allowed to ride uphill - meaning his wife Bre has been enlisted as a taxi driver to help in his return to the saddle.

"It's been a long eight weeks full of various scans, physiotherapy, rehabilitation sessions, indoor trainer rides ... but my recovery has been coming along nicely," Vine wrote on Instagram.

"I'm stoked to say the doctors gave me the approval to remove the neck brace a few days ago, and they even gave the a-okay to ride my bike outside!

"Granted yes, I'm only allowed to ride uphill, but it's better than nothing!

"Luckily here in Andorra there are more than a few reasonably long climbs, so I'll ride up then have Bre drive me back down the mountain, and repeat."

Vine said it was still too soon to know when his first race back might be.

The UAE Team Emirates rider's still got to return to full training before that's a possibility.

"I'm still not 100 per cent and I know it will take a while to get used to all the new sensations, but overall it's a massive step in the right direction, and I'm starting to feel more like myself again," Vine said.

"No we don't know when or what my races will be - first priority is getting some kind of base training done and make sure there's no flare ups, and we'll assess and go from there.

"Not to fear, we are taking our time and making sure all the temps and pressures are in the green before we start the engine properly."