“Hindley has to go for it" - Red Bull - BORA Hansgrohe could use Pellizzari in key Giro d'Italia podium battle

Jai Hindley has eyes on the Giro d'Italia podium as Friday's queen stage will see over 5000 meters of climbing, huge dolomite peaks and the crucial Cima Copi. The Australian, a former winner of the Corsa Rosa, knows that now is the time to strike for the top three in his favoured arena.

Red Bull - BORA Hansgrohe are sure to be plotting a mountain raid to get their man ahead of current third place Thymen Arensman. The Dutch rider leads him by just 33 seconds, and Felix Gall a further a further 24 seconds ahead in second while Jonas Vingegaard sits comfortably in pink over four minutes ahead.

The Passo Giau, this year's highest point of the race and the prestigious Cima Coppi, is sure to form a general classification battleground. Topping with just less than 50 kilometers to go and two category two ascents left to race, Hindley has been urged to try squeeze his opponents on the slopes of Giau and force gaps early.

Thijs Zonneveld explained in his podcast In de Waaier: “Hindley has to go for it. He has two options, he needs to make up 33 seconds in two mountain stages. He can do that by applying pressure on the Giau, early in the stage, to see whether he can use the climbs to make the difference. The gap is not big, but it is there.”

“He is behind, but in this stage there will be almost twenty kilometres above nine per cent today. Weight is simply going to play a major role there. We have had many climbs in this Giro of 6, 7, 8 per cent, and the last one in Carì too. Arensman was good there, but it was never percentages well above ten per cent. Today you will get that.”

But it's about what Hindley does after a potential difference-making attack on Passo giau that matters to the Dutch analyst. With plenty of descending and climbing to come, Hindley could need support in the form of teammates to help pace the rest of the stage - with Felix Gall and Jonas Vingegaard unlikely to give full contribution if they also follow Hindley.

That's where Giulio Pellizzari comes into the equation. The young italian climber has fallen out of general classification after illness has seen him continue to suffer. However, the German team will hope that if he has recovered following some less strenuous days on the bike, there could be a chance to use Pellizzari as a potential helper.

“Suppose he goes over the top of the Giau with 30 seconds on Arensman, then what? Vingegaard will follow him anyway, and then he will not do very much. Gall will probably be there too, but he will not do much either. Then Hindley needs teammates who were already in the breakaway. A Vlasov, or a Pellizzari.”

He added: “Hindley himself is slightly stronger than Arensman, but he does not have a team that is much better than INEOS. Unless Pellizzari has miracle legs and can ride on the front all the way up the Giau and drop Arensman. It would surprise me, but it is possible.”

Away from Hindley and Arensman's podium duel, Zonneveld expects Felix Gall to once again demonstrate that he is the second best climber in the race. He sees Gall consolidating his podium place barring any incident.

“He does not need to apply pressure on the Giau yet,” the Dutch analyst said. “He is second and only has to spend two days doing what he has done for the last two weeks. He has been better than Arensman and Hindley on every climb. Why would that change now? If he does nothing strange, he will simply finish second.”