Jai Hindley has roared again in the "pinnacle of cycling", making history as just the second Australian ever to enjoy three overall podium finishes in Grand Tours as he rode home for a valiant third place in the Giro d'Italia.
As new champion Jonas Vingegaard confirmed his place among the sport's all-time elite in Rome by completing his set of the three Grand Tour triumphs and dominating the 109th Giro with five magnificent stage wins, Hindley underlined why he's one of Australia's greatest.
The 30-year-old had been ill during the race, needing to take antibiotics in the second of the three weeks, yet recovered spectacularly to complete his own set of Giro podium finishes, having famously won in 2022, been runner-up in 2021 and now third.
Only the great former Tour de France winner Cadel Evans has had more Grand Tour podium finishes among Australians, with five.
The often unsung Perth rider Hindley had told AAP on the eve of the race from Bulgaria that he and his Red Bull BORA-hansgrohe team "aren't here to lick stamps".
That was his 2026 version of his famous but bewildering affirmation "we're not here to put socks on centipedes" in the year he won.
The translation was that he and his team weren't once again there to mess around, and after he'd proved stronger over the race than his talented young co-team leader Giulio Pellizzari to assume the role of main man, Hindley lived up to his promise.
"The second week was very hard for me, I was really quite sick. I even had to take antibiotics, but I seem to be back in time," Hindley had smiled after a remarkable third-week resurgence saw him move into third place overall on the 19th of the 21 stages.
On Sunday, the largely processional ride into the capital ended with Italian Jonathan Milan winning the final-stage sprint and Vingegaard clinching his fourth Grand Tour, having twice won the Tour de France and last year's Vuelta, where Hindley had signalled he was recovering his best form with a fourth-place finish.
Hindley did suffer a mechanical mid-race on Sunday but swiftly got back to the peloton. He ended 6 minutes 25 seconds behind Vingegaard, and 1:03 behind runner-up, Austrian Felix Gall, thrilled at his achievement.
🛠️ Problems for Jai Hindley as we enter the final 50 KM of the stage, but the Aussie is back in the main bunch already!
— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 31, 2026
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"I haven't had a good result in a Grand Tour for a long time, and to be fighting for the podium again was really nice," said Hindley. "For me, the Grand Tours are the pinnacle of cycling, and being competitive in them is what I train for."
It was Vingegaard's day, though. The 29-year-old, who'd become the eighth man to win all three Grand Tours, was emotional as he said: "It's amazing. It's something I dreamed of my whole life."
He'd had to celebrate his Vuelta win last year in a car park after the final stage was cut short by anti-Israel protests, but in Rome was met by his family at the finish.
"It gives me tears in my eyes. They are always there for me," he said, voice breaking.
It was only the second Giro in a decade there wasn't a stage won by an Australian, following the early abandonments of the luckless Kaden Groves and Jay Vine with crashes, but, impressively, there were four Aussie finishers in the top 17.
Michael Storer (Tudor Pro) finished a career-best seventh at 10:13 down, Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla) was 16th at 24:12 and Chris Harper (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro) 17th at 30:43.
AUSTRALIAN PODIUM FINISHERS AT CYCLING'S GRAND TOURS
Tour de France
2007 - Cadel Evans (2nd)
2008 - Evans (2nd)
2011 - Evans (winner)
2020 - Richie Porte (3rd)
Giro d'Italia
2013 - Evans (3rd)
2020 - Jai Hindley (2nd)
2022 - Hindley (winner)
2026 - Hindley (third)
Vuelta a Espana
2009 - Evans (3rd)
2021 - Jack Haig (3rd)
2024 - O'Connor (2nd)
