JAI HINDLEY: My name is Jai Hindley.
I'm 26 years old.
And I'm a professional cyclist for team Bora-Hansgrohe.
The Giro is like a really special race.
I really enjoy the country.
ERMANNO LEONARDI: My name is Ermanno Leonardi.
I am the Managing Director of Specialized Italy.
The Giro d'Italia is the most important stage race
that we have.
JAI HINDLEY: It's a really tough grand tour.
And yeah, it's an awesome atmosphere.
The best thing about the race is really the fans.
Everyone is super passionate.
ERMANNO LEONARDI: For sure, the Giro d'Italia
represents the number one race for us.
JAI HINDLEY: I've just been riding
for the team since the start of 2022.
I'm a climber in the team and GC rider.
ERMANNO LEONARDI: Of course, when we win a race,
this is just the result of something that starts way,
way before.
ROLF ALDAG: My name is Rolf Aldag.
I'm head Sport Director of team Bora-Hansbrohe.
The interesting thing was the vision of the team.
Aiming to become a GC team, the team
signed a lot of new riders, a lot of young riders.
It's a lot of question marks, of course.
You have a new strategy, philosophy.
But how do you fulfill that?
ERMANNO LEONARDI: The training camp, as well as
the retool fitting with the riders, as well as
all the tests that we do with the riders.
ROLF ALDAG: And then you see the engagement from everyone,
from the mechanics, from the physios, from the doctors,
from the riders.
ERMANNO LEONARDI: We test the bikes.
We test the frames.
We test the geometry of the bicycle.
We test the wheels.
We test the shoes and the helmets.
JAI HINDLEY: All the preparation run into the Giro
went pretty well.
That was like the main target of the season.
All the other races were sort of just in preparation for that
and building up towards that one big goal.
ERMANNO LEONARDI: Well, of course,
we had a lot of expectations, because we
knew that the Bora team was coming
to the Giro very well-prepared.
JAI HINDLEY: We had a pretty ambitious goal.
We were full in for the GC.
We didn't have a sprinter there.
We just had GC riders and support riders.
And yeah, the goal was to get a guy on the podium in Verona.
ROLF ALDAG: The biggest doubt was the beginning of the Giro.
JAI HINDLEY: I was a bit nervous to see how I was going to go.
ROLF ALDAG: Jai didn't start the race
because he was literally sick.
JAI HINDLEY: That wasn't really ideal a week and a half
before the start of the Giro.
ROLF ALDAG: Wilco had a massive crash.
He couldn't really even bend his leg for days.
And he had to move his altitude cam because of sickness
in [INAUDIBLE].
So for us, the biggest threat and chewing our nails
was get through the first half of the Giro.
JAI HINDLEY: The first week, especially on the harder
stages, I was struggling mentally.
It was also really tough.
ROLF ALDAG: The first half of the Giro
was a very, very difficult one.
And that was the moment when we could have been attacked.
And we could have been under big pressure.
JAI HINDLEY: It was also nice to get a win
in the first half of the race.
I really have to thank the guys for that,
because they did everything they could for me.
And they were really incredible.
ROLF ALDAG: Three guys were out at the front.
And then Jai really took it on and won that stage.
ERMANNO LEONARDI: At the beginning,
we did not expect such a result. But we
were very much confident.
ROLF ALDAG: There was some situations
when the pressure and the threat,
they handled it really, really nice,
and then turned it around.
JAI HINDLEY: Yeah, I think after this Torino stage,
the whole team's confidence was massive.
And we really showed we weren't there to play around
after that stage.
ROLF ALDAG: Everybody was caught by surprise how the team rode
and how aggressive the team rode.
Ride in the front, and stay there
as a team, really attacking things,
going out the very offensive.
You have always a little bit of doubts.
Is it the right thing to do?
Everything like that also comes with a big risk.
And then the guys executed it to nearly perfection
with riding very aggressive, with surprising other teams.
There was a turning point then to say, OK,
now we also recognize now we're in that game for the podium.
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JAI HINDLEY: The last week mentally was pretty exhausting,
when you're really fighting for the GC every day.
ROLF ALDAG: The performance of Jai
was very interesting, because he was not
being seen as a favorite going into the Giro.
JAI HINDLEY: The three guys that were on the podium
were all quite even, so it was, every day, a real battle
in the final there.
And so mentally, it was really tough.
ROLF ALDAG: And then it was growing into that whole thing,
let's take it day by day.
Let's not lose time.
Let's look for our chances.
And so this growing into that role, I think,
was very important.
JAI HINDLEY: I was feeling better and better.
ERMANNO LEONARDI: Day by day, day by day,
we started to get even more confident.
ROLF ALDAG: We knew the stage 20 would be very decisive.
JAI HINDLEY: I wasn't thinking super
straight at that time, because it was just an all out effort,
and it had been super hard before our attack.
ROLF ALDAG: We had the feeling that Carapaz
faded a little bit, while Jai was very, very stable.
JAI HINDLEY: I could hear that Carapaz was dropping.
And I could also see it when I looked back.
And that was just like massive motivation
to just do an all out effort.
Yeah, that was a really crazy day, actually.
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It's a pretty beautiful feeling, actually,
to put on the [ITALIAN].
It's really like an iconic jersey in cycling.
And just to put the jersey on is a massive thing in itself.
The pink tarmac, yeah, that was also pretty sweet.
I was just overwhelmed with emotions.
Maybe it didn't look like it, but yeah,
there was a lot going on, the stress of the race, and yeah,
to come away with the wind and also
Bora-Hansbrohe's first grand tour GC win is pretty cool.
ERMANNO LEONARDI: In racing, Barossa is super important.
The history of Specialized is full of trophies and success.
Being an Italian, winning the Giro d'Italia
is super important.
JAI HINDLEY: When all the guys came onto the podium
and we all started celebrating on the podium,
that was really cool.
It's really like a team effort to get me there.
And yeah, it was just really a full team performance
for three weeks.
ROLF ALDAG: The team did grow together.
The team really approach it as one.
And ultimately, I think that success is not
a personal one, but a team one.
JAI HINDLEY: Pretty epic day.
And yeah, one I'll never forget.
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