(Marmolada) Jai Hindley propelled himself to the top of the overall Giro d’Italia standings on Saturday with just one day to go in this grueling cycling event.
Posted at 12:11 p.m.
Updated at 1:00 p.m.
The 20e stage took place in the Dolomites, and culminated at Marmolada, the highest peak in the Italian mountain range. Local favorite Alessandro Covi eventually won the stage, his first in a major race, after a long solo attack.
Covi picked up the pace on the slopes of Passo Pordoi, then raced alone through Cima Coppi, earning valuable points in the process for crossing the highest peak of the 2022 ‘Giro’ first.
He forged a cushion of two minutes in front of the last members of the breakaway as they approached Passo Fedaia, and six minutes in front of the main peloton.
Covi then repelled an attack from Domen Novak, and the Italian was able to cross the finish line with a 32-second lead over his main pursuer. His compatriot Giulio Ciccone completed the stage podium, 37 seconds behind.
The favorite for the “Giro” title, Richard Carapaz, who triumphed in 2019 and who won the gold medal in road cycling at the Tokyo Olympics last year, had led the standings since last Saturday – by three seconds.
The Ineos Grenadiers team cyclist cracked with three kilometers to negotiate before the end of the penultimate stage, at the same time opening the door to Hindley.
Photo Massimo Paolone, Associated Press
Jai Hindley
The latter, who is part of the Bora – Hansgrohe team, will have a cushion of one minute and 25 seconds in the individual time trial on Sunday in Verona.
“I knew it would be a decisive step, that the last meters [de l’étape] would be brutal, and that if I had fresh legs then it might make a difference in the outcome,” Hindley said. We stayed back, to spare ourselves for today’s stage, and it worked perfectly.
“When I heard that Carapaz was dropped, I gave everything I had. It was a daunting step,” he added.
The Australian had entered the final time trial in 2020 in the same position, but finished second just behind Tao Geoghegan Hart. The two men, however, had the same time overall and, barring a disaster, Hindley should be on his way to victory on Sunday.
“We will see how things go. It’s always difficult to predict how an individual time trial will go after a three-week competition, but I will fight until the end for the jersey [rose] tomorrow,” Hindley summed up.
Mikel Landa remained in third place, 1:51 behind Hindley.
Canadian Alexander Cataford (Israel-Premier Tech) finished the stage in 113e place in a group at 40:37 from Covi, and he is 101e in the cumulative ranking.