When Jai Hindley meets strangers who have no idea what winning a maglia rosa at the Giro d’Italia entails or means, he has a tactic to prevent the otherwise inevitable barrage of follow-up questions and sycophancy. “In Australia I tend to tell people that I work in advertising for a German company,” he laughs.
In a roundabout way, the Australian does – professional cycling is one big marketing circus, and Hindley happens to be riding for a German team, Bora-Hansgrohe, that promotes kitchens and bathroom fittings.
But a marketing office is not where Hindley spends a large chunk of his time; instead, he’s usually found training or racing for six hours a day, steadily progressing over the last few years into a Grand Tour winner. Not that you’ll hear the 26-year-old, selfeffacing Aussie talking himself up.
“I’m just pretty laid back, pretty chilled,” is how describes himself as he walks through the Austrian Alps. He’s now a superstar on the bike, but off it he’s not one for courting attention.
