Not even the time to metabolise the new paths of Line of Business e Tour that the first disputes are already arising at home Bora Hansgrohe managing the next season does not appear to be very simple. Given the route of the Grande Boucle, with only one time trial that isn't very long, the German team would like to bring Jai Hindley to France, but the Australian is oriented to return to Italy and defend on the field the pink shirt conquered in the last edition.
Hindley was not frightened by the route of the pink race, profoundly different from the one won, with many more kilometers under time trials. A difficult problem to solve. There's time to address it, but we wanted to learn more by hearing from the person who shared that Giro with Jai day after day, namely Cesare. Benedetti who was part of the winning team.
How did you experience that?
Few have underlined it, but the fact of starting with 3 strikers (bookman, Keldermann and Hindley) allowed Jai to approach the first part of the race lightly, without great pressure. When he saw his condition on the Block Haus, having the team under his control was almost a logical consequence, this allowed the Australian to always remain calm. Maybe he was masking the tension, but even in the last week you saw him get on the bus, put on his headphones, close his eyes and concentrate, or maybe just get distracted. He never lost his smile, I think that was one of his strengths.
You will admit, however, that the next Giro will be different, with many more time trial kilometres…
It's a different Giro in other ways too. It's a less tough Giro, there aren't those sequences of tough stages with uphill finishes, even three in a row that we found. There are tough stages, big climbs, even the time trial on the penultimate day, but it's less severe and this paradoxically puts Jai at a greater disadvantage than the time trials because it's been seen that the Australian, when he's in good shape, has excellent recovery skills.
Compared to 2020, do you think he improved in the time trial?
Certainly, but it's not as if he was still there even then… He had worked much less then, today he has matured, he has gained experience, he has also worked in the wind tunnelI say not only that it has improved, but that it can still grow.
Paradoxically, the Giro and the Tour seem to have reversed their characteristics, with a very tough French race featuring as many as 30 Grand Prix of the Mountain…
It's a tour where you start off straight away at full speed, from the Basque Country with routes that almost seem like those of the Ardennes classics. I honestly see Hindley doing really well on that route, he would already be among the first in the first stages. I think he's now ready to take on the greatest riders at the Tour, and he certainly wouldn't start out beaten on that course. But there's a but...
What?
If I were in his shoes I would say the same things and I would really like to go to the Giro. Can you imagine the thrill of racing with the number 1 on your jersey? It's incredible, a return to classic cycling. I'm speaking from a feeling, because rationally at the Giro he would have all eyes on him, while at the Tour he wouldn't have much responsibility, he could ride with the lightness that characterized his last adventure in Italy. There's also another aspect to the Tour: it's different not only because there's a lot of climbing, but also because there are no stages that are difficult to interpret, where fans are created, those fractions that can also cost the race.
We've talked a lot about Hindley, but what does Benedetti hope for?
I would really like to return to the Giro, also because it passes in front of my house (Rovereto, ed.), in the Bondone districtI remember it only happened in 2001 and 2002 and I was there on the side of the road cheering on the champions who passed me. I am a rider more suited to the Giro, I'm quite used to setting up the season to be in shape for the Ardennes and then pushing straight for the Giro d'Italia. I don't have much to say about the Tour.
Have you already resumed your preparation?
Yes, very calmly for a week, combining cycling and the gym. Usually, we first made contact as a team in October, but this time... Everything has been postponed, but they have already sent us a rough calendar for the whole season and each of us can express our preferencesThe team will then draw its conclusions. Meanwhile, those going to Australia have already been notified and are working in a more targeted manner. We'll know more at the first training camp of the season in Mallorca, from December 9th to 21st. By then I believe that the Hindley Giro/Tour dispute will also have its resolution.
