Hindley becomes first Aussie to win Giro d’Italia
Jai Hindley accomplished what he so narrowly missed out on two years ago by sealing overall victory in the Giro d’Italia on Sunday in Verona, Italy — becoming the first Australian rider to win Italy’s Grand Tour.
Hindley finished 1 minute, 18 seconds ahead of 2019 champion Richard Carapaz following the concluding individual time trial, which finished next to Verona’s Arena, a Roman amphitheater.
The victory was all the more sweet for Hindley after he entered the final stage of the 2020 Giro wearing the pink jersey only to finish runner-up to Tao Geoghegan Hart. Hindley said that secondplace finish haunted him for months afterward.
“I had in the back of my mind what happened in 2020 and I wasn’t going to let that happen again,” Hindley said.
Carapaz finished seven seconds ahead of Hindley in the time trial but Hindley had entered the final day with an advantage of 1:25.
“I was getting updates and I felt pretty good on the bike,” Hindley said.
Spanish rider Mikel Landa finished third overall, 3:24 behind, and Vincenzo Nibali, the 37-yearold two-time Giro champion who plans to retire at the end of this season, finished fourth, 9:02 behind.
Hindley struggled last year with injury and sickness and withdrew midway through the 2021 Giro due to a saddle sore.
“Last year was really, really hard and I really fought hard to be back here,” Hindley said. “But I didn’t know I would be fighting for the win.”
Carapaz, the Ecuadorian who won Olympic gold last year and was celebrating his 29th birthday Sunday, was the pre-race favorite.
ETC.
Auto racing: Red Bull ● denied Sergio Perez a chance to race for the win in Spain with team orders that left the Mexican star unsettled. Assured that he’d be allowed to race for wins this season, Perez moved on to the Monaco Grand Prix with Red Bull’s disappointing decision in his rearview mirror. Then he scored his first Formula One victory of the season. Perez rebounded from the Red Bull team orders one week ago to pick up the win Sunday in the rain-marred Monaco Grand Prix. The third win of Perez’s career came after a questionable strategy call by Ferrari that cost pole-sitter Charles Leclerc a win on his home circuit. Although Leclerc finished the race for the first time in four tries, he finished fourth and allowed reigning world champion Max Verstappen to extend his lead in the standings. Carlos Sainz Jr. finished second for Ferrari and Verstappen was third for Red Bull. But Ferrari protested both Perez’s win and Verstappen’s finish, alleging the Red Bull drivers failed to stay to the right of the yellow line at pit exit following their stops.
Boxing: Gervonta Davis regained his knockout power and retained his lightweight title Saturday night in New York, stopping Rolando Romero in the sixth round. Davis (27-0, 25 KOs) had to go the distance in his last win for only the second time in his career.
Track and field: Olympic gold medalist
Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica held off American Sha’Carri Richardson in the 100 meters at a rainy Prefontaine Classic late Saturday in Eugene, Oregon. Thompson-Herah won in the 100 and 200 and the 400 relay at the Tokyo Olympics. She defended her Pre title in 10.79 seconds, in front of Richardson in 10.92. American
Michael Norman won the 400 a meet-record 43.60. He won at the trials last year and finished fifth in the event at the Olympics, but now has his sights set on the worlds.