Jai Hindley has joined a list of riders that just contains himself and Cadel Evans, Australians to have won a Grand Tour.
Perth-born Hindley has a category all to himself as the only winner of the Giro d’Italia. After going so close in 2020 edition of the Italian Grand Tour when leading into the final stage time trial, Hindley banished any lingering bad memories from the race against the clock that day with a strong final effort this year to secure the overall win.
“I wasn’t gonna let that happen again,” said Hindley of his 2020 final day loss. “It is a beautiful feeling. There were a lot of emotions out there today.
“I had in back of my mind what happened in 2020, and I wasn’t gonna let that happen again, to be honest. To take the win is really incredible.”
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Hindley falls just short of Giro win
In the end, it was his best time trial performance as a professional, finishing fifteenth on the stage and only ceding seven seconds to Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) who finished second overall, with Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious) completing the podium for third.
The West Australian has been his typical, laid-back self in dealings with media throughout the race and was appreciative of fan support from back home, often ending interviews with SBS with a shout-out to the audience braving the late nights to watch the race.
Carrying the Aussie flag, holding the distinctive Trofeo Senza Fine of the Giro on the pink carpet in the middle of the Verona Arena, Hindley was at the peak of his career to date and took the time to enjoy the moment.
Hindley’s final margin of victory after 86 hours, 31 minutes and 14 seconds over 3,445.6 kilometres of racing in Hungary and Italy was a minute and 18 seconds over established star of the sport Carapaz, the Olympic road race champion and the winner of the 2019 Giro.
The key moments for Hindley came with on the hardest days of the race. His Stage 9 victory atop the Blockhaus and the Stage 20 annihilation of his pink jersey rivals came on the hardest climbing stages of the 2022 edition of the race. Both stages had over 4,700 metres of vertical gain, epic days on the bike where Hindley has shown to excel.
Then on Stage 14, where it wasn’t the toughest terrain, it was his BORA-hansgrohe team that made the race difficult, setting a vicious tempo from early in the stage and inflicting serious time losses on many of Hindley’s rivals for the overall win.
From there, the race for the pink jersey in Verona was a pitched battle between him and Carapaz, with Hindley trailing the Ecuadorian by three seconds for four stages. The pair were seemingly stuck at an impasse until the decisive moment came with just over three kilometres remaining on the climb of the Marmolada.
The deadlock was finally broken as a final pacing effort by Hindley’s teammate Lennard Kämna distanced Carapaz, with Hindley then driving the advantage home with a stunning solo ride to put a minute and 28 seconds into his rival.
The final stage time trial wasn’t a formality, but with plenty of time as buffer, Hindley’s win was all but assured and he produced the performance of a consummate professional to secure the win and begin the celebrations.
The product of Midland Cycling Club in Perth, the Australian racing for the German trade team BORA-hansgrohe, has forever planted his name alongside legends of the sport in the history books as a Grand Tour winner.
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