'It was an accident': Inside Jai Hindley's Tour de France yellow jersey coup
After finding himself in the breakaway, the Australian relied on his homework and seized his chance


A hearty clap and a yelp for joy pierce out from inside the Bora-Hansgrohe team bus. 200m down the road, in the green penumbra that surrounds Laruns, Jai Hindley has won stage five of the Tour de France. And he’s taken the yellow jersey, too.
The plan had worked, everybody assumed. Starting the day 22 seconds down, all the Giro d'Italia winner had to do was sneak into the breakaway and steal time. The team had chalked out the perfect coup, the move that couldn’t fail, plotted to the most minute of details. Except it hadn’t.
When the team’s race car pulled up and sports director Rolf Aldag stepped out, the real strategy - or lack thereof - was revealed.
“To be dead honest, it wasn’t the plan to put Jai in there,” he said. “It was more of an accident, actually.”
Just 30km from the flag drop in Pau, Hindley embedded himself in a near 40-strong breakaway group that nudged its way up the road. The group thinned out over the HC Col du Soudet and into the Pyrenean valley, but the Australian kept still within it.
By the foot of the Col du Marie Blanque, around 25km from the line, Hindley was alone with AG2R Citroën’s Felix Gall, who he dropped at the summit and never saw again.
The move on the day may have been instinctive, but the groundwork had been laid months before.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Speaking after his victory, Hindley explained he had singled out stages five and six a long time ago, poring over them with his coach, and carrying out his own recon rides. “It’s been quite a long time on the road, actually,” he said. “At the start of May, I flew to the Basque country [to recon] the two stages in the Basque Country, then today’s and tomorrow’s stage.”
The Australian's preparations didn’t stop in the Pyrenees. “Then [I did] like four and a half weeks of altitude training, before and after the Dauphiné. Basically, I’ve been living like a monk for the past two months or so, and living out of a suitcase. I haven’t really seen my family or anyone else too much.”
The hard work proved critical in the end. When he went alone over the Marie Blanque on the road to Laruns, Hindley was left to rely on his knowledge of the parcours. “It was really hard to hear the radio actually all day,” he explained, “especially on the last climb with all the fans.
“I knew if I was going solo over the top, I needed to descend pretty well and get down there pretty quick. I just wanted to come to the line on my own, and I managed to do that. Pretty crazy. The guys on the radio were going off.”
The guys on the radio, it turned out, could see little of the finale. “We were so far off with the car that we didn’t even know where they were anymore,” sports director Aldag said. “He did it on his own, and he did it bravely.”
Hindley's reward would be a first Tour stage win and a pristine yellow jersey, something he never imagined in his debut at the race. Can he wear it in Paris? “I’m not here to put shoes on centipedes,” he smiled.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Tom joined Cycling Weekly as a news and features writer in the summer of 2022, having previously contributed as a freelancer. He is fluent in French and Spanish, and holds a master's degree in International Journalism. Since 2020, he has been the host of The TT Podcast, offering race analysis and rider interviews.
An enthusiastic cyclist himself, Tom likes it most when the road goes uphill, and actively seeks out double-figure gradients on his rides. His best result is 28th in a hill-climb competition, albeit out of 40 entrants.
-
World-class women’s cycling to return to U.S. for the first time since 2019 at Maryland Cycling Classic debut event
Olympic champions and international teams headline initial team roster for the September race
-
I'm living proof that life begins at 50: Why it’s never too late to be the fittest you’ve ever been
-
Tour de France Champs-Élysées stage to include cobbled climb in Montmartre, copying Paris Olympic road race
Route change confirmed to mark 50th anniversary of first ever finish on the Champs-Élysées
-
Identical start, diverging destinies? The story of Adam and Simon Yates as they both race for pink at the Giro d'Italia
Adam and Simon Yates head to the Giro d’Italia on different teams and with different prospects. As their career paths diverge, does the brotherly bond endure?
-
Who could complete the Grand Tour hat-trick at the men’s Giro d’Italia?
Six male riders could become stage winners in all three Grand Tours this month
-
Tadej Pogačar was dominant at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but I hope for a competitive Tour de France
The Slovenian has finished on the podium of the last six Monuments, the first man to do so - when will he stop dominating?
-
Jonas Vingegaard confirms race schedule ahead of Tour de France
Danish climber will only ride the Critérium du Dauphiné in June, but will take part in two altitude camps
-
Remco Evenepoel hails end of 'dark period' and announces racing return
Olympic champion says comeback from training crash has been 'the hardest battle of my life so far'
-
'We need to keep the biggest race in the sport free' - Petition calling for Tour de France to remain on free-to-air television reaches 10,000 signatures
As things stand, the Tour will be not be free to watch in 2026, but a petition is seeking to change the way it is categorised by the UK government
-
Could Caleb Ewan be Ineos Grenadiers' first Tour de France sprinter since Mark Cavendish? 'That's my goal'
"All I can do is try to win as much as possible and prove that I deserve to be there," says Australian