Search
Close this search box.

The Aussie cyclist that’s made history in the Giro d’Italia

Share

Cycling News, jai hindley

Australian cyclist Jai Hindley has broken through for an historic win in the Giro d’Italia. He’s the first Aussie to win it and just the second to claim a grand tour win.

Australian cyclist Jai Hindley led rival Richard Carapaz by 85 seconds heading into the final stage of the Giro d’Italia – a race no Aussie had ever won.

The Bora-Hansgrohe rider looked pretty in pink with a one minute, 25 second advantage heading into the race-ending, 17 kilometre individual time trial in Verona.

He got through the final mission unscathed to become just the second from down under to win one of the three grand tour events – the other, of course, being Cadel Evans in the 2011 Tour de France.

Embed from Getty Images

When Hindley was just three seconds behind general classification leader Carapaz, heading into stage 17, that was the smallest margin at that point in the race since 1963.

The 26-year-old from Perth has gone one better than his previous PB in Italy, runner-up in 2020.

Ironically, fellow Aussie Richie Porte was one of the key lieutenants for Carapaz, helping try to deny Australian cycling fans of an extremely rare feat. Carapaz, the 2019 winner, came in as the pre-race favourite.

Hindley turned professional in 2016 when he joined the Attaque Team Gusto and the following year he joined the Mitchelton Scott team.

Embed from Getty Images

In 2018, he made his debut for Team Sunweb at the Volta ao Algarve at Portugal and competed at the Vuelta a España – the remaining event that forms the three ‘grand tours’ along with the Giro and Tour de France. 

Hindley rode in the 2019 Giro d’Italia and had a successful 2020 season when he won two stages and the general classification in the Herald Sun Tour at Victoria. Amazingly, he is currently ranked 122 in the world on the UCI individual ranking list. 

As the 2022 Giro d’Italia entered its final week, Hindley recaptured his best form and rode it all the way to sporting history. What a win.

The Tour de France is the next grand tour event, starting July 1.

Picture of Joel Martelli
Joel Martelli
The only thing that Joel Martelli loves more than football (seriously, we wouldn't be surprised if he has a Wollongong Wolves tattoo) is writing about all things sports. With a Bachelor of Communications and Media Studies Degree specialising in Journalism, he spends his days uncovering breaking athlete news stories and diving deep into play-by-play strategies. We're glad that he's put his passion to the pages of Only Sports as one of our dedicated sports writers.

Latest Stories

Best State of Origin jerseys
We've selected and ranked the 10 best State of Origin jerseys of all time
T20_World_Cup_Guide_Hero
2024 T20 World Cup ultimate guide: Can Australia reclaim the title?
Sport events 2024 calendar australia
Your Ultimate Guide to every unmissable sporting event for 2024, updated
Best sports autobiographies
How many have you done? Here are the 10 best sports autobiographies ever written

Related Articles