Jai Hindley is one of only two former winners taking the start of the Giro d'Italia in 2026, alongside Egan Bernal, but four years after his pink jersey triumph in Verona, even he isn't afforded the luxury of sole leadership as Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe try to form a plan to challenge the standout favourite: Jonas Vingegaard.
If anything, there was a question mark over whether Hindley would be riding this, his sixth Giro, as a domestique for rising Italian star Giulio Pellizzari, who has impressed this season by winning the Tour of the Alps overall and two stages, a key form-marker for his home Grand Tour.
The 2022 winner has been playing second fiddle at each of his stage racing appearances this year, working for Pellizzari at Tirreno-Adriatico and both Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz at the Volta a Catalunya, but confirmed that wouldn't remain the case for the Giro.
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"We'll be here with me and Giulio as co-leaders, so I think we'll run that plan as long as possible and see how it works out," Hindley told Cyclingnews at the team presentation in Burgas on Wednesday evening.
"I think it definitely helps if you can have numbers in the final, especially if you have two guys that work well together. I think we have a pretty good working relationship. He's a good guy to ride with, and I'm looking forward to racing with him and the rest of the boys here."
While he addressed that Vingegaard is looking most likely to complete the Grand Tour set as the heavy GC favourite, Hindley said in typical fashion that Red Bull would "focus on our own race."
Having combined well with Pellizzari at the Vuelta a España last season but ultimately lost out significantly to Vingegaard, though – Hindley was 3:41 down in fourth at the close and the Italian 7:23 in arrears – they will know the challenge presented by the two-time Tour de France winner well.
But Hindley has arrived at the Bulgarian Grande Partenza confident in his shape, and confident that at his "favourite race", he and the talented Pellizzari can bring Red Bull a top GC result to open up their Grand Tour campaign.
"Giulio is riding really well. I think he's also improved a lot since last year – I mean, last year he stepped up quite a lot already," said Hindley of his Italian teammate. "But again, now he's riding at a really, really high level, which he showed at the Tour of the Alps and was super nice to see. He's in red-hot form.
"I think my shape is pretty good. I had a good camp in Tenerife, and then I went to the Ardennes. Flèche was not the best, a bit of an opener, let's say, but in Liège, I felt pretty, pretty strong, and thought I had a good race.
"I was a little bit sick after the race in Liège, but nothing too crazy and now I'm feeling good and ready to go. I'm confident in myself here, and I'm looking forward to the next three weeks."
Hindley won't only have his wealth of experience as a Grand Tour racer and at the Giro d'Italia specifically to play on, but the route will also bring good memories for the Australian from his stage win en route to the maglia rosa in 2022 and his time as an amateur racer.
Stage 7 will bring the race to the iconic Blockhaus, which Hindley conquered in the Giro four years ago, but also takes him back to his former second home in the Abruzzo region, where he cut his teeth for six months on the amateur team Aran Cucine Vejus.
"It's always nice to come back to the Giro. I would say it's my favourite race. It's just a special one. It's always quite unpredictable, always super hard in the last week, and racing, in my opinion, in one of the nicest countries in Europe, so it's not too bad, hey?" said Hindley, before commenting on the return to his former training roads and Blockhaus.
"Of course, it's always nice to go to Abruzzo. I also used to live there at one point, and it's a really beautiful region, a pretty underrated part of Italy, and with a super tough climb. I'm looking forward to it.
"For sure, the last week will be super decisive, but I think, I think Blockhaus will be a first big test. Then the [stage 10] time trial is also very important, especially for the GC guys and super hard with it being flat, straight, and not too technical. Then we'll have some already pretty medium stages coming before the last week, which will be the most decisive."
Even with Pellizzari looking the more obvious contender on paper for Red Bull, Hindley has long proved that repeatability and durability across three weeks of the toughest racing is where he thrives most, and that's not forgetting that this is a contract year for him.
With no confirmed place for 2027, as of yet, Hindley is in control of where he lands next after turning 30 just ahead of the race's start on Friday, but these next three weeks will prove vital and standing up a proper challenge to Vingegaard could well make the difference when it comes to his negotiations.
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