"It's far from over" - Jai Hindley confident as Giro d'Italia general classification battle set for final week showdown
Cycling
Jai Hindley has vowed that the Giro d'Italia is by no means over as the general classification favourites face a demanding final week in the battle for the Maglia Rosa. The Red Bull - BORA Hansgrohe rider sits fifth place overall but almost four minutes behind leader Jonas Vingegaard.
Hindley won the Giro in 2022 after a strong final week saw him seal the pink jersey in a battle with Richard Carapaz, and although Hindley may have his sights more on Felix Gall, Afonso Eulalio and Thymen Arensman in a podium battle, the Australian knows better than anyone how tough the final week of the Giro can be.
115 kilometers lie in store between Bellinzola and Cari, both of which in Switzerland. But despite the relatively short profile, riders are in for a brutal day that features over 3000 meters of climbing and five categorised climbs - including the one to the finish of 11.6 kilometers at 8% average gradient.
Many speculate that it could be a day for the breakaway due to the short stage duration and potential lack of appetite among the general classification contenders to risk their placings with more demanding stages later this week.
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Jai Hindley confident ahead of week three
Stages 19 and 20 are the most fearsome arenas remaining after Tuesday's stage. In particular, Friday's queen stage features over 5000 meters of elevation gain and the Cima Copi - the race's highest point - Passo Giau in what is almost certain to be a general classification duel in the Dolomites.
"I'm feeling good, feeling better than I was last rest day," Hindley told Cycling Pro Net before the stage. That's a good sign. I'm ready for a big fight, a lot of hard stages coming up this week in the final part of the race. I think the race will be made in the next days."
Hindley thrives in the Giro's final week, and hopes that his recovery from illness last week can be confirmed by some strong performances in the high mountains. He got the better of Thymen Arensman on Saturday's stage 14 mountain-top finish and knows he needs to claw back another 40 seconds to jump ahead of the Netcompany Ineos man.
Jai Hindley declares Giro GC battle far from over
He added: "I like the third week, everyone's a bit tired and it's a bit less stressful in the bunch. I always seem to feel alright in the third week, so hopefully this Giro's not any different."
But either way, the final week is all about the grind for Hindley. Riding his eleventh grand tour, the experienced general classification contender is happy with his shape and thinks his team are in a good place - with Giulio Pellizzari sitting just behind him in sixth place in the overall standings.
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Hindley opened up: "Just grind, mate. Just grind every day.It's going to be a big fight. The guys ahead are really strong, I think it will be an interesting race. It's far from over and we have some big days to come already starting today. It will be an interesting finale. I'm confident with the team we have and the numbers we have in the finals."
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
- How can you use a photo post incident to judge the incident itself (which is not hard to find if you’re prepared to invest the same amount of time in searching as writing that comment? It’s harsh but technically right even though this or worse is not always sanctioned in every race. The two things that went against MS (who unfortunately for her would still have won without making her mistake) are that it was not a bunch sprint where there could have been an overlooked incident or mitigating circumstances explaining a deviation. Everything was focused on just those 2, Schreiber was riding beautifully balanced which made her sudden deviation look unnatural stroke as if it could have been in some part intentional whilst she was slowly drifting ever closer towards the barrier to a point that would have reached obstruction level. In her defence, it might have been the realisation she was heading towards that that made her react suddenly and caused the deviation involuntarily. In any case, congratulations to her for the ride of her life, in people’s minds she will be credited for it.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Good boy Obviously doesn’t need that much help dealing with pressure, as some have suggested. Wiser (and humbler) than many far further along their careers. About offering him the moon, recently someone came up with an explanation of the downfall of a football great (either referring to Maradona or Portuguese Ronaldo) saying it was kind of normal after coming back from the moon, except that others, including some who actually did go to the moon like Armstrong (Neil in case anyone is too switched off to realise) didn’t go through any of the same motions after coming back. A lot of how you deal with situations has less to do with the situation than with your character.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
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