Forget Ash Barty and Ashes, 'Australian of the year' is Jai Hindley! – McEwen lauds Giro d'Italia champion

Forget Ashleigh Barty and the triumphant cricketers, Robbie McEwen has named Jai Hindley “Australian of the year” after his heroic victory at the Giro d’Italia. Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) became the first Aussie to win the Giro on Sunday, ending the country’s 11-year wait for a Grand Tour winner and banishing memories of his traumatic final day in the 2020 edition. Ad/> He saw Britain's Tao Geoghegan Hart wrestle the maglia rosa off his shoulders in the decisive time trial 19 months ago, but there was no repeat in 2022 as he comfortably held off former champion Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) to deliver a maiden Grand Tour win for himself and Bora.

Giro d'Italia'I wasn’t going to let that happen again' — Hindley fuelled by final-day anguish2 HOURS AGO Hindley was 10 seconds behind Carapaz in the general classification through most of the early running as the Giro travelled from Hungary to the Italian mainland via Sicily. But he catapulted into contender status with a magnificent win atop Blockhaus before chiselling away at Carapaz’s lead by taking bonus seconds in sprints. By the time the penultimate stage rolled around in the mountains on Saturday, just three seconds separated first from second.

Then with barely 3km remaining on Stage 20, the GC battle finally came alive. With Bora team-mate Lennard Kamna setting a brutal pace in the Dolomites, Carapaz cracked and Hindley pounced. By the summit on the Marmolada, Hindley had a 1:25 advantage.

This time, he was not going to be stopped. It left McEwen full of praise for his compatriot as he revelled in his success on The Breakaway. 'I wasn’t going to let that happen again' — Hindley fuelled by final-day anguish What next for Giro winner Jai Hindley, Bora-Hansgrohe and