Jai Hindley set for ‘fun and aggressive racing’ at the Tour Down Under
Last year’s Giro d’Italia champion plays down his chances of a potential Tour Down Under victory as he looks ahead to coming months
![Jai Hindley](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Zuu9Yn79kuvAzj6c4gXZxN-415-80.jpg)
Jai Hindley can’t wait to zip up his new season Bora-Hansgrohe jersey and clip into his pedals once more to begin a new WorldTour season this weekend.
After a long off-season at home in Australia, last year’s Giro d’Italia champion is getting set to travel to Adelaide ready for the WorldTour season curtain raiser, the Town Down Under, in the coming days.
Speaking to Cycling Weekly, Hindley explained that after studying the key stages, he’s predicting full-gas, aggressive racing as the new season gets underway in the height of the Australian summer.
“It's going to be a great month for Australian racing. We’ve had the nationals, then we’ve got Down Under, the Cadel [Evans] race and a couple of races in between them. Normally we’d have had the Sun Tour but that’s not on this year unfortunately,” Hindley said.
“So there’s a really good month there and it’s good times for the scene.”
The five stages of the Tour Down Under feature two fearsome looking days in the Adelaide Hills, something which on paper is right up Hindley’s street. Although the Bora-Hansgrohe man looked to play down his chances of a result racing on home roads as he looked ahead to bigger goals in the coming months.
“We’ll see. I mean I’m not going to say no but it’s obviously quite early in the season,” he said.
“I’ve got some really big goals lined up this year, so we’ll see how next week plays out. I think the course looks good, they’ve changed it up a fair bit and it's going to be a good race.”
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
“With the way cycling is going now I think it’ll be quite aggressive racing. I’ve looked at all the stages, they’re quite short so I think we’ll see some fun, aggressive racing which will be really nice actually,” Hindley added.
Opportunities to race back at home are few and far between for Hindley. The Australian told Cycling Weekly that he was looking forward to racing on home roads in front of Aussie fans.
However, he explained that it was “not the end of the world” if the race doesn’t go to plan.
“There’s not so many races here in Oz, so getting to do Down Under is really cool. I know a lot of the guys in Europe always look forward to doing this race, and especially the Aussie pros,” Hindley said. “It’s probably one of the best weeks in the calendar for us Aussie guys, just being in that atmosphere and environment.”
“As a rider it’s a great event but I can imagine it’s great for the spectators too. All the race is in one area and it’s super accessible for the fans. I don’t think you get that in too many other sports actually,” he added.
“There will be guys here ready to perform at a super high level, then others who are just looking to get some early season racing K’s in the legs. The level will be really high though that's for sure.”
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 has been writing for Cycling Weekly since 2022 and his news stories, rider interviews and features appear both online and in the magazine.
Since joining the team, he has reported from some of professional cycling's biggest races and events including the Tour de France and the World Championships in Glasgow. He has also covered races elsewhere across the world.
As well as on the ground reporting, Tom writes race reports from the men's and women's WorldTour and helps with coverage of UK domestic cycling.
-
Unbound Gravel lottery opens two months early, ensuring riders are 'more prepared than ever'
Registration for the 2025 Unbound Gravel will open on Friday, November 1, 2024, and close two weeks later, on November 15. Lottery winners will be announced on November 21, 2024.
By Anne-Marije Rook Published
-
Star triathlete Taylor Knibb to take on world's fastest cyclists in the Olympic time trial
Colorado-based 26-year-old Taylor Knibb will be representing Team USA in both the individual time trial and triathlon at the Paris Olympics.
By Kristin Jenny Published
-
How Tadej Pogačar created history and won the Giro d'Italia-Tour de France double
A journey that was supposedly fraught with risk and uncertainty was anything but for Giro d'Italia and Tour de France victor Tadej Pogačar
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
Miguel Ángel López receives four-year doping ban
Lengthy ban relates to findings from 2022 Giro d’Italia
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Who won each classification at the Giro d'Italia 2024?
Who won the maglia rosa, maglia ciclamino, maglia azzurra and maglia bianca after the final stage?
By Joseph Lycett Published
-
Tim Merlier wins the final stage of the Giro d’Italia in Rome as Tadej Pogačar is crowned the overall winner
The Belgian rider takes his third stage win of the race in the sprint ahead of Jonathan Milan
By Joseph Lycett Published
-
Giro d’Italia stage 21 as it happened: The race heads to Rome for a sprint on the final stage
Tadej Pogačar set to be crowned the overall winner in the Italian capital
By Joseph Lycett Last updated
-
Tadej Pogačar seals the overall victory with an emphatic win on stage 20 of the Giro d’Italia
The Slovenian puts the cherry on the cake at the Giro d’Italia with the win on the penultimate stage after a decisive attack on the Monte Grappa
By Joseph Lycett Published
-
Giro d’Italia stage 20 as it happened: Double ascent of the Monte Grappa on the penultimate stage
Can Tadej Pogačar take his sixth stage win of the race?
By Joseph Lycett Last updated
-
Andrea Vendrame wins stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia with bold 30km attack
29-year-old returns to winning ways with breakaway heroics, as Geraint Thomas overcomes crash scare
By Tom Davidson Published