Hindley: “I’ve lived like a monk these past few months”

the australian Jai Hindley, winner of the fifth stage of the Tour and new general managerassured that it is too early to consider him one of the favorites for the final victory, but warned that he is not here for a holiday.

The Bora rider salvaged an Australian expression he already used in his 2022 Giro victory to show he’s no trooper: “I’m not here to fit a centipede.”

“Right now I just want to focus on the moment, appreciate success and yellow. It’s hard to maintain, the team helped me a lot and I thank them. I’m here to compete in the general classification, but I’m learning, I don’t want to raise too many expectations, there are many more stages ahead”, he assured.

The Australian assured that he is in good shape and has worked hard to get to know the Tour route well, but acknowledged that there are many tough rivals, “not just Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar”.

these past few months “I lived like a monk, I hardly saw my familyI have trained thoroughly, I have gone to recognize stages, I have done preparation at height”, he pointed out.

All this with the aim of returning to the podium of a grand tour, after doing so twice in the Giro d’Italia, which he won in 2022 two years after being runner-up.

The 27-year-old Australian reiterated that his goal is to finish in the top three, with him planning to save as much energy as possible for the third week.

“But I got into the breakaway and I saw the opportunity to gain time and then win the stage and I want to make the most of it,” said the new leader of the general classification, acknowledging that he is living “a dream. ” in his first participation in the Tour, a race he watched since he was six years old.

Unbeknownst to the general public, Hindley used humor to define himself: “I’m a lefty from Perth who loves riding, European culture and, like all Australians, scrambled eggs on toast.”