Hindley was overshadowed by Richard Carapaz for a long time, but on Saturday he distanced the Ecuadorian by more than a minute – thanks to his teammate Lennard Kämna. Now he is the first Australian to win the Giro.
Before the final time trial, Jai Hindley has a lead of 1:25 minutes.
The most innovative team at the Giro d’Italia is about to make the biggest haul. Three and a half kilometers before the stage finish on the Passo Fedaia, Jai Hindley initially countered an attempt by Richard Carapaz. Team Bora’s captain had been the Eduadorian’s shadow for the past week. He was only three seconds behind in the classification, three seconds after a distance of more than 3400 kilometers. But those three seconds seemed insurmountable.
Until that moment on Saturday afternoon in the Dolomites. As Hindley accelerated, Carapaz stayed with him. But then Hindley’s teammate Lennard Kämna suddenly appeared from a hairpin bend in front of the two rivals. Kämna, who had already won the stage on Mount Etna, let the duo get closer and immediately took the lead. As he accelerated, Hindley followed. However, Carapaz, winner of the 2019 Giro and Olympic champion in Tokyo, had to be torn down. He lost a minute and 28 seconds and with it the pink jersey. «It was a perfect day today. Lennard came to me at just the right time. That’s how we planned it. It’s unbelievable,” Hindley said.
For the German racing team Bora it was not the first perfect day of this Giro. Exactly one week earlier, on the 14th stage around Turin, the team had isolated Carapaz and decimated the peloton with a brutal start 80 km from the finish. This action put Hindley in wait behind Carapaz. “We actually decided to attack so early as a precautionary measure. The short but numerous climbs of this stage do not suit our riders very much. We wanted to get ahead of the other teams,” sporting director Jens Zemke described the motivation a week ago. That attack was intended as a defense.
On Saturday, however, on the 20th stage, defensive considerations were not the trigger for the attack. It was all or nothing, it was about the preliminary decision at the Giro. The decisive factor was the help from teammate Kämna. His arrival caused the shock in Carapaz’s body. After that knockout on the bike, Hindley increased the lead crank-turn by crank-turn all by himself.
The course of Stage 20 of the Giro showed how clever team tactics can break a deadlock between two racers. Because up to this day, Hindley and Carapaz were at exactly the same level. Only the action of helper Kämna made the difference.
Hindley is now the first Australian to ever win the Giro. Cadel Evans, the 2011 Tour de France winner, once finished third in Italy. Hindley himself finished second in 2020. Back then, too, he conquered Rosa on the penultimate day. However, he lost it in the final time trial. He doesn’t like to see that as a bad omen. Because two years ago he went into the fight against the clock at the same time as the eventual winner Tao Geoghegan Hart. This year he has a clear lead.
Wheel. 105th Giro d’Italia. Stage 20, Belluno–Passo Fedaia (168 km): 1. Alessandro Covi (ITA) 4:46:34. 2. Domen Novak (SLO) 0:32 behind. 3. Giulio Ciccone (ITA) 0:37. 4.Antonio Pedrero (ESP) 1:36. 5. Thymen Arensman (NED) 1:50. 6. Jai Hindley (AUS) 2:30. 7. Gijs Leemreize (NED) 3:04. 8. Hugh Carthy (GBR) 3:19. 9. Mikel Landa (ESP), same time. 10. Lennard Kaemna (GER) 3:39. 11.Richard Carapaz (ECU) 3:58. – 17. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) 4:37. 78. Reto Hollenstein (SUI) 27:58. 147. Mauro Schmid (SUI) 42:36. – Overall ranking (20/21): 1. Hindley 86:07:19. 2. Carapaz 1:25. 3. Landah 1:51. 4. Nibali 7:57. 5. Pello Bilbao (ESP) 8:55. 6. Jan Hirt (CZE) 9:07. 7. Emanuel Buchmann (GER) 11:18 8. Domenico Pozzovivo (ITA) 16:04. 9. Juan Pedro Lopez (ESP) 17:29. 10. Hugh Carthy (GBR) 17:56. – 76. Smith 3:52:36. 129. Hollenstein 5:49:10.