Dhe German team Sunweb can apparently do everything in the pandemic season. In the Tour de France, the racing team focused entirely on stage wins – and won three of them. They were also successful with classics. And now at the Giro d’Italia, Sunweb is convincing as a tour team. On Thursday she took first and second place in the overall standings on the Stilfser Joch thanks to a brilliant collective performance by Wilco Kelderman and Jai Hindley and crowned the performance with a stage win by Hindley. There will be a double victory in Milan on Sunday. And it will be exciting: Kelderman’s lead over Hindley is only twelve seconds.
Nico Denz is Sunweb’s engine when the terrain is flat to undulating. On the 18th stage over the Stilfser Joch, the 26-year-old drove about 80 kilometers at the front of the field and made sure that the ten-man escape group could hardly increase their lead. This laid the foundation for Hindley’s stage win.
“The strongest of all in the peloton”
And although Kelderman is the front runner, the man of the hour is Hindley. The 24-year-old Australian made a splendid appearance on the 15th stage on the climb to Piancavallo. On the Stilfser Joch he was the only one who was able to follow the surprising attack by Ineos duo Rohan Dennis and Tao Geoghegan Hart. Kelderman fell behind but remains in the pink jersey. “Hindley is the strongest of all here in the peloton,” says Rafal Majka, a professional in the service of Bora-hansgrohe. Hindley actually looks as if nothing and no one could harm him at this Giro.
Jai Hindley has been a pro for three years and this Giro is his third Grand Tour. He also knows the Italian situation well. For a year he drove in a youth team from Abruzzo. “I like the Italian mountains. It’s just great to drive them. And the longer the climbs, the better, ”says Hindley. While the Giro could best be over now for his captain Kelderman, Hindley’s hunger for climbing seems unbroken. At the beginning of this season he already won the Jayco Herald Sun Tour in his native Australia.
In contrast to many colleagues who had to modify their goals due to the changed racing calendar, the Giro was his main goal of the season from the start. The postponement to autumn did not change that. He seems to have more support in the team than Kelderman, who is moving to Bora-hansgrohe next season. A clear sign of the change in power was that the team van followed not Captain Kelderman, but youngster Hindley on Thursday.
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