Because for the first time, the Raublinger racing team not only competes for the podium in a big tour like in 2019 at the Tour de France with Emanuel Buchmann. The Ravensburger was fourth then. With Hindley, it’s about winning. Teammate Lennard Kämna sees it that way too. He is convinced that even before the decisive time trial in Verona, the three seconds behind Carapaz can be converted into a lead. “Oh, you can do that”he said with a happy laugh of the sports show.
Kämna convinced of Hindley’s qualities
He is convinced of the qualities of the new leader: “Jai shows here that his second place in 2020 at the Giro is not a one-day thing. And we as a tour team are constantly developing.”
Bora-hansgrohe took a giant step in this development on Saturday. On the hilly stage around Turin, five Bora riders broke up the entire peloton. “Yes, they took us by surprise”, admitted Carapaz frankly. That day Hindley established himself as the man in pink’s first challenger thanks to a superb team effort and thanks to his own hill sprinting skills.
Preliminary decision at the Marmolada?
Hindley himself considers the penultimate stage, the ride over three passes with the finish on the 2,057 meter high Marmolada, to be decisive for this Giro. His sporting director Jens Zemke warns: “You have to try it beforehand and not rely on the last climb or even the time trial.”
The 18th stage on Thursday gives few points of attack in terms of profile. Although it has some hills in the Prosecco region of Valdobbiadene, the last 40 kilometers to the finish in Treviso are flat. It will be more interesting on Friday. First up is the Kolovrat on the Italian-Slovenian border, which is almost twelve kilometers long and has a gradient of up to 15 percent. Then the toxic final ascent to the Santuario di Castelmonte has to be conquered. This is good ground for clever plans. The expectations are also increasing, especially with the new Bora tour team. “You certainly can’t repeat an action like the one we did in Turin every day. But if there’s an opportunity, we’ll take it.”said Zemke.
Ingenuity at Bahrain Victorious
You can also be excited about the third player. Team Bahrain Victorious has been the most active team over the past few days. She won the 17th stage with escapee Santiago Buitrago and at the same time, with a collective performance that was hardly inferior to the Bora action from Turin, her captain Landa took third place overall.
The racing team also has more experience than Bora when it comes to overturning classifications. Just remember the most recent Vuelta a Espana, when not only did Jack Haig finish third overall on the penultimate day, but his rival Miguel Angel Lopez, frustrated by the force of the attack, got into the team car. It was an inspiring mixture of tactics, leg strength and passion. “Bora surprised us in Turin on Saturday, but now we want to come up with something similar.”said Bahrain’s sporting director Alberto Volpi. He wants more than third place for his captain Landa.
In the competition of innovators, one should not ignore Ineos either. The team has driven this Giro very conservatively so far. During the classic season in spring, the former cruise control team also attracted attention with very early and unexpected collective attacks. The last few days of the Giro should be very exciting, also thanks to the narrow gaps.