Hindley had hoped to usurp his rival in the 177-kilometre journey to Santuario di Castelmonte and was placed at the front of the peloton by Bora-Hansgrohe in time for the road up Kolovrat.
Carapaz, without many Ineos Grenadiers members around him, moved onto the wheel of the Australian and didn’t let go as the road continued towards the Italo-Slovenian border.
It was a sign of things to come as the peloton approached the final climb to Santuario di Castelmonte, with the Ineos guard back on hand to guide Carapaz to the front and keep Hindley in check.
Both riders traded blows inside the final two kilometres, before bridging across to Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious) who had created a little bit of space in a bid to improve his own third-placed GC position.
As Koen Bouwman (Jumbo-Visma) led the breakaway to the finish line, it was Carapaz who won the sprint for eighth, with Hindley close behind to keep the three-second gap unchanged ahead of the final road stage.
The stalemate wasn’t what Hindley had hoped for, in truth, but he remains focused for one last mountainous assault on the maglia rosa leader.
“The guys rode very well in the lead up to the decisive climb,” Hindley said after the race.
“It wasn’t the ideal stage to really put the hammer down. But we knew that the penultimate climb was quite steep, and the descent was technical, so we also wanted to be up front to stay out of difficulties.
“On the climb, I tried to look for opportunities to attack, but eventually it didn’t work out how we wanted it to.
“I knew the finale was more punchy, which I think suits Carapaz better than it does me.
“Tomorrow is going to be a big stage, and unquestionably decisive. We’re up for the challenge and it would be a dream scenario to take pink tomorrow.”
The Giro d'Italia continues tonight with a decisive stage in the overall battle for the pink jersey, with a monstrous day of climbing set to see the top climbers in the race battle it out. Watch the full stage from 8:05pm (AEST) via SBS On Demand, with the SBS coverage starting at 10:30pm (AEST). WA viewers can watch from 8:30pm (AWST).
