Jai Hindley had the sweetest of family reunions on Sunday, winning the Giro d’Italia in front of his parents after not having seen them since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australian Hindley became the first man from his nation to win the Italian Grand Tour by snatching the pink jersey on the penultimate stage before rolling into the final-day time trial in Verona to seal a memorable win.
The 26-year-old’s family celebrated in the city’s ancient Roman Arena when he lifted the trophy, capping a great victory for cyclist and nation. Before Sunday he had not seen his family since after the Sun Tour way back in February 2020, after which he was in his home town of Perth “for less than 24 hours” before heading back to Europe.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“I didn’t know that was the last time I was going to be back home for a couple of years,” Hindley told reporters. “Then a few day ago I found out that my parents were going to be coming to the finish and I was really blown away, to not see your parents for two-and-a-half years is unbelievable. To have them at the finish in the Arena today was special. Really special. I think at the end of the year I’ll go home and savor every minute of it.”
Hindley claimed his win by holding off Richard Carapaz in Sunday’s time trial, a skill which was once his weak point and which cost him victory at the 2020 Giro.
He said that he had worked on his technique with his team Bora Hansgrohe, and banished the memory of his painful last-stage collapse in the time trial two years ago, when he conceded the Giro to Briton Tao Geoghegan Hart on the final day.
“I went to California, to this specialized headquarters, spent quite a bit of time in the wind tunnel trying to work on better positions on the new set up and I think it’s helped a lot,” he said.
Hindley said that he might take a stab at this year’s Vuelta a Espana and is also eyeing a place in the world championships, which are to be held in New South Wales, Australia, in September.
“I think it would be a great event and it’s not every day you get to do the worlds in your home country, especially when you’re from Oz. So yeah, I’m super keen to be in that team,” he said. “I think after today I’ll take it easy for a bit, sink some beers, park up and just really savor the moment.”
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
RSS