Hindley's return to the Giro d'Italia "will come down to what the Tour route is"

Jai Hindley had hinted his climbing prowess in the past, but the 2022 Giro d'Italia saw him storm through in the final week to take the overall win. In 2023 he could put on the number 1 and defend his title, but a decision is far from being made, and will largely depend on the Tour de France route.

"I haven't made up my mind, and we haven't had too many discussions about next year already with the team, so it's hard to say," Hindley said at the route presentation in Milano. "Ultimately, it will come down to what the Tour route is like a bit and then we'll see from that. But it's also something to go into the Giro as defending champ, I've never done that before so that's also a big factor."

The decisions will be made over the winter. The route features almost 70 kilometers of time-trialing, although the final of the three challenges will features the gruesome Monte Lussari which will mean he won't be in such a disadvantage. Nevertheless there are over 50 kilometers of flat time-trialing which could dictate difficulties for the Australian who has in the discipline a weak spot.

However on the other hand, Hindley sees a race that at the same time is well suited to him, as it is very backloaded. The overall route is very mountainous, but the third week specially features four high-mountain stages all with summit finishes, and as was the case in 2020 and 2022, this is the timing in which he has performed the best. However, those are decisions that aren't to be made at least until the 27th, when the Tour de France route will be announced.

"Whenever I go back there and I smell the arrosticini (street food) on the road, it sort of reminds me of home a bit. That's probably three more than I would like. But it's not me organising the route, so I just take it as it comes," the defending champion continued. "There were three time trials in 2020 and I was still second, and I think I'm also a bit better at time trialling since then. I'll continue to work at it and try to make it more of a strength. For sure, it's not ideal for me, but you can't always get what you want."

As for the critical final two mountain stages, he's had clear opinions: "If you run out of legs in the final TT, that could cost you the race. I think those two stages [19 and 20], coming on the back of the three weeks, will be pretty crucial. It's like every year on the Giro, those are the stages where guys can come unstuck. This year will be no different. This will be a race of attrition and you either have it or you don't in the last few days," he concluded.