'A proper day out' - Jai Hindley eyes familiar Blockhaus test at Giro

Hindley spent six formative months in Abruzzo as an amateur in 2015, racing for the Aran Cucine squad. As well as giving him a taste for arrosticini, the skewered meats so typical of the area, it also gave him repeated exposure to the Blockhaus and the Passo Lanciano.

Those training rides marked the West Australian’s first exposure to the sort of mountain pass that would define his career. Indeed, the Blockhaus itself would provide a key moment in his 2022 Giro triumph when he claimed victory at the summit on stage 9.

“It was pretty bloody long, mate,” Hindley told reporters of his first memories of the Blockhaus all those years ago. “I’d never really done such a long climb before, so it was maybe one of the longest climbs I did in my life up until that point and it was super cool. I was living maybe 50k away, so for me, it's a pretty special mountain.”

The Blockhaus has certainly tended to be a special ascent over the years, stretching back to Eddy Merckx’s maiden Giro stage victory in 1967, and it has provided significant early pointers on its two most recent visits. In 2017, Tom Dumoulin limited the damage to stage winner Nairo Quintana, while Hindley underlined his form four years ago with his win from a five-up sprint at the summit.

It looks set to be a defining ascent again this time out. The Giro gruppo is braced for an offensive from favourite Jonas Vingegaard (Visma Lease a Bike), while it might also be a defining afternoon for the hierarchy at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, where Hindley shares leadership with Giulio Pellizzari. 

After Wednesday's demanding leg to Potenza, Hindley lies 18th overall, 6:22 down on new maglia rosa Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious) and on the same time as Vingegaard. Pellizzari is four seconds ahead thanks to the time bonus he picked up on stage 4.

“It’s super important,” Hindley said. “I think it’s the first really big test. I think at Blockhaus we will for sure see some gaps and I think we will have a good idea on who’s got the legs at this race.

“We have a good team. I think we can also be there with two guys in the final, hopefully, so that’s the goal, and then we’ll see.”

Although there are more demanding mountain days to come in the Giro’s third week, stage 7 will be the longest of the race, with the peloton covering some 244km. The cross-country route from Formia sees them take on the climb of Roccaraso before the 13.6km haul to the finish.

“We will come there with a lot of fatigue in the legs from a long day, and the final climb itself is really tough,” Hindley said. “It will be a proper day out.”