“I’ve not had a result in a Grand Tour for a while...” - Former Giro d’Italia winner Jai Hindley rediscovers GC legs with sensational podium return

Jai Hindley is set to return to a Grand Tour podium at the 2026 Giro d’Italia after surviving the final mountain test on Piancavallo and defending third overall behind Jonas Vingegaard and Felix Gall.

The Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe rider finished third on Stage 20, crossing the line in the same time as Gall and Derek Gee-West, 1:15 behind another dominant Vingegaard victory. With only Sunday’s final stage in Rome remaining, Hindley sits third overall, 6:25 down on the maglia rosa and 37 seconds ahead of Thymen Arensman.

For Hindley, the result carries obvious weight. The Australian won the Giro in 2022, but had not returned to a Grand Tour podium since. After coming close at last year’s Vuelta a Espana, his ride through the final week in Italy has put him back among the leading three-week riders.

“It is super nice,” Hindley told Cycling Pro Net after Stage 20. “There is still one day to go, but it is really nice.”

The final ascent of Piancavallo briefly opened the podium fight again. Vingegaard attacked with around 11 kilometres remaining and quickly dropped Gall, while Gee-West then accelerated behind in an attempt to put pressure on Arensman and the top five.

Hindley followed Gee-West rather than gambling everything on chasing Gall alone. That move helped him protect third overall, and when the chase group regrouped behind Vingegaard, the main GC order remained unchanged.

The effort came after a brutal Stage 19 and another hard day in the mountains, with Hindley admitting the final weekend had left its mark across the peloton. “It was a super hard day,” he said. “I was pretty tired after yesterday, to be honest, and I think I was not the only one. There were a lot of tired boys out there.”

Hindley had started the day 1:01 behind Gall, leaving second place still theoretically within reach. The Australian did not hide that he had thought about trying to distance the Decathlon CMA CGM Team rider, but the legs did not give him the chance. “Yeah, it was in my mind,” Hindley said of potentially dropping Gall. “But the legs had a different story, let’s say.”

Hindley’s podium is a major result after a quieter spell in Grand Tours by the standards he set with his 2022 Giro victory. He remained a dangerous GC rider, but this race has given him a full three-week result to match that status again.

“I have not had a result in a Grand Tour for a while, and to be fighting for the podium again is really nice, especially after coming close in the Vuelta last year,” he said.

The significance was clear in the way Hindley described the race. For him, Grand Tours remain the central measure. “For me, the Grand Tours are the pinnacle of cycling, and to be competitive in them is what I ride my bike for,” he said.

There is still one stage to complete, and Hindley was careful not to call the podium fully finished before Rome. But with the final mountain stage now behind him, the hardest work appears done. “Yeah, I hope so,” he said when asked whether it was job done. “I am pretty tired.”

Vingegaard has been in a race of his own at the front of this Giro, and Gall has emerged as his closest challenger. Hindley’s prize is different, but still substantial: a return to the Grand Tour podium, four years after winning pink, and proof that his GC legs are back where they need to be.