Hindley won the final stage after a long wait. The Australian was on his way to winning his first Grand Tour at 26, and he said, “You had to have patience.”
Hindley appears to be safe from the misfortune that befell him at the Giro 2020. Hindley was 1 minute 25 seconds ahead of Carapaz in the 17.4 kilometer time trial. On the day of the finish, he had already taken the pink jersey and had lost it in Milan’s time trial. His advantage was now equal to… zero seconds in front of his rival Briton Tao Geoghegan Hart, who then passed him.
The Australian rider from Bora is now in a strong position, less than two years after the Giro 2020 took place in October. He is a physical freshman in a Giro that he approaches “moderato allegro”, just like his one stage success at Blockhaus (9th stage), in which he was briefly left behind.
Hindley’s third week in racing in the Dolomites was a success. The pace was set by the Bahrain team of Spaniard Mikel Landa, but it was a considerable distance (nearly six mins) from the breakaway. The men from Carapaz (Tulett, Sivakov and others) then rode at maximum speed up the Fedaia’s first steep slopes before the Australian attacked about 3,500m below the summit.
Carapaz thought he was being favored at the high altitude (2.057m) but gave in to a second acceleration after passing the banner for the final 3 kilometers. Following Carapaz, a Hindley teammate (Kamna) was the winner of the 2019 Giro. He found himself in tremendous pain. Landa, who he lost to around thirty seconds later, even overtook him.
Covi won the stage near the artificial Marmolada lake, saving the balance sheet of UAE team that bet on the Portuguese Joao almeida. After his honors in the Giro 2021 in Montalcino (2nd) or at Monte Zoncolan (3rd), the young Piedmontese has finally achieved his goal.
Covi explained that he was not a true climber and had to make it ahead of the last climb. He broke from the breakaway at Pordoi, which was the second of three climbs for the day. Covi is now more than 50 km from the finish. “In the final kilometers, my legs hurt so bad that I almost had cramps.”
Sunday’s final time trial will take place at the Torricelle circuit, Verona, which was used in the 1999 and 2004 Worlds.
