"I gave everything, but I couldn't" - Jai Hindley defends himself but can't hold yellow jersey at Tour de France

Jai Hindley has honourably defended his yellow jersey at the Tour de France. The BORA-hansgrohe rider tried to match Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar when Sepp Kuss set a strong pace on the Tourmalet. However, he was unable to follow them and had a hard time for a few meters to stay in the chasing group.

It was a dream day initially for the Australian who had the yellow jersey on his shoulders. An attack from Jumbo-Visma was expected in the day's climbs but it came earlier then some expected. Hindley managed to match it at first, but had to wait for the chasing group later on as the pace only grew quicker.

"It was an epic day with the yellow jersey, climbing mythical peaks, I enjoyed it. I tried to follow the two favorites, I couldn't and then I gave everything," Hindley said in a post-race interview. "Jumbo set a very high pace, very hard, crazy, I put myself in the right position, ready to follow them, I gave everything, but I couldn't."

Finally, in the final climb to Cauterets he was at a very good level and was the first of the chasing group that entered the finish line just ahead of Carlos Rodriguez and Simon Yates. It was a strong performance but one a level below the Top2, as was expected initially. He dropped down to third in the overall classification, now 1:34 minutes behind Jonas Vingegaard.