"Adapt or die" - Jai Hindley has won the Giro in the past, but needs a higher level just to be in contention now

Over the past few years, the level in professional cycling has raised significantly. It is a relatively unanimous observation. Technology and nutrition have evolved a lot and allow riders to race faster than ever, and every year riders must keep adapting to the new 'rules of the game'. Jai Hindley for example has won the Giro d'Italia only just over three years ago, but knows that he has to keep changing his preparation in order to remain near the top of the sport in some way. 

"It's not only the Grand Tours that are more brutal, it's everything. Everything, every race is harder than the last. As LeMond said 'it never gets easier, you just go faster'. It's really like that – you feel the sport is evolving rapidly," Hindley said in words to Cyclingnews. "The races are getting more and more fast, and it's not getting any easier, that's for sure. So adapt or die, basically."

This is something that most riders seem to agree on, but certainly there is performanced-based evidence for this matter, with new climbing records being set constantly, and average speed records being set in races as a whole - not just the mountains. Hindley has seen the progression of the peloton from it's pre-Covid years, to directly after when he achieved his career-best result by winning the 2022 Corsa Rosa; to modern day where even the domestiques and smaller-role riders in the top teams have similar extreme training and nutrition requirements to the leaders. 

"I think you just have to be completely focused in the key moments. It's changed a lot. I think careers will also not be so long, probably eight to nine years," he says, with the increasing demand taking a toll more quickly on the riders. "I don't expect guys will be able to ride or live at this intensity for 10 to 15 years like it was in the past". Only this year, seven male World Tour riders below the age of 30 retired from the sport, including successful riders such as Ide Schelling and Lars Boven who were in their own teams riders with a big role. It goes to show how even success is not enough to maintain a career. 

"Everyone is doing everything to the absolute limit and yeah, it's a pretty brutal sport, but honestly, if you want to compete and you want to be in the mix, then you have to be at your absolute best and not 1% less, otherwise you won't be there. Like I said, you either adapt and do everything you can, or you're left in the dust." The presence of injuries or crashes often also delays the process, and has a rider stagnate whilst most of the peloton continues to move forward. It seems like currently, this plays an even bigger role. 

"I think it could have been the same level, if not better. The level is just going crazy. I think since COVID-19, you probably also saw it," the Australian adds. "It's just the evolution of the sport was probably heading in this direction anyway, but I think COVID-19 was a real accelerator for that, and we're in a pretty special era of cycling as well".

However, he continues to find motivation to perform and evolve, and being part of a team that has grown in level significantly, and now has Remco Evenepoel as part of it as well, helps Hindley in his mission: "If you're pessimistic, you can think like 'oh, fuck, there's all these guys here now, I'm not going to get my shot'. Or you can think 'ok, all these guys are on board, now I really need to step up my game and be as consistent as possible'. So I'm pretty optimistic."

Hindley will get the shot to lead Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe alongside Giulio Pellizzari, after the two have teamed up successfully at the Vuelta a España last year. It is a great opportunity, specially in a team with Remco Evenepoel, Florian Lipowitz and Primoz Roglic all present. 

"If I'm being totally honest, I really needed a good result at a Grand Tour again. It had been a while since I had actually done something, maybe since 2023 – the Tour in 24 was a rough one, and then I obviously crashed out of the Giro in 25, so personally, I really needed that for myself," he admits.

He didn't manage to win a stage, but showed his very best level once again, with a lot of consistency as well, as he continued to perform all the way to Bola de Mundo where the race unofficially ended. "It was really nice to be back at the pointy end of a Grand Tour, and pretty competitive, especially in the last week. I took a lot of a lot away from that, let's say, and I think there's still more to come."

But in a peloton with climbers such as Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, it's hard to aim for more at this point in Hindley's career. A Grand Tour podium would already be a major achievement. "If I look at the guys who are winning most of the races, you've got arguably one of the best cyclists of all time as the number one rider at the moment, and if you want to compete with him, then you also need to be your absolute best. It's pretty remarkable – I think we take it for granted sometimes, how impressive some of these guys are."

But at the end of the day, he remains quite happy with his position in the peloton, and wants to continue benefiting from it. "Okay, sometimes you think, 'Fucking hell, what am I doing?' But in the end, your worst, absolute worst day on the bike, is still better than your best day at the office, 100%. It's an awesome sport, and it takes a lot away, but it also really gives you a lot. For me, it's given me a lot in life. So I've got a lot of love for cycling," he concluded.