Giro d’Italia Stage 21 as it happened – Jai Hindley holds on to win Giro, Matteo Sobrero takes final TT
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Updated 29/05/2022 at 16:07 GMT
A remarkable performance on the final mountain stage in the Dolomites saw Jai Hindley (BORA-hansgrohe) snatch the maglia rosa from Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) as the Ecuadorian cracked badly. Barring a disaster in the final stage time trial, the Australian looks set to celebrate his first Grand Tour success. Stream the Giro d'Italia live and on-demand on discovery+.
'I love this bit' - Sobrero gets pink carpet treatment after destroying time trial
Jai Hindley: I'm proud to be Australian and bring it home
Here's Australia's first ever Giro d'Italia champion after his win: "It’s a beautiful feeling. A lot of emotions out there today. I had in the back of my mind what happened in 2020 and I wasn’t going to let that happen again, to be honest. To take the win is really incredible.
"I was getting updates and I felt pretty good on the bike – I didn’t feel like I was fighting it and I knew it was a decent ride. I wanted to take the descent pretty cautiously but then I just gave it everything to the end. I’m really proud to be Australian and happy to take this one home."
And here's the moment Jai Hindley made history for Australia...
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‘It’s the Jairo!’ – Redemption for Hindley as Australian makes history
Matteo Sobrero wins Stage 21
Jai Hindley will steal the headlines but it was an Australian team who took the win on the last day with Matteo Sobrero (BikeExchange-Jayco) winning the 17.4km race against the clock with a time of 22:24. Dutchmen Thymen Arensman (Team DSM) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) were second and third at 23" and 40" with another Dutchman, Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), taking fourth at 1:08 and Britain's Ben Tulett (Ineos Grenadiers) fifth at 1:12.
Here's what Sobrero had to say: "It’s an amazing feeling. I’m really happy with the team. We won the first TT [Simon Yates] and the last one. We worked really hard over the winter and this is the result. The main goal of the day was to put the finish line on the top of the climb and I gave everything until then – and then did it again to the finish. The descent was a bit wet but, woah, unbelievable."
16:11 - Jai Hindley wins the 2022 Giro d'Italia
20 years to the day after Cadel Evans became the first Australian to don the maglia rosa back in the 2002 Giro, Jai Hindley becomes the first Australian to win La Corsa Rosa after crossing the line in Verona to record the 15th best time at 1:31. That means he only concedes seven seconds to Richard Carapaz and that's not enough. Hindley wins 18 months after his final day nightmare. A beautiful tale of redemption.
16:09 - Carapaz takes tenth to secure runner-up spot
The 2019 champion will not be the 2022 champion: he's 1:24 down in 10th place today but there's no way Jai Hindley will lose that over his last couple of kilometres...
16:07 - Mikel Landa secures podium place
The Basque climber from Bahrain Victorious crosses the line for 74th place just over three minutes back on Sobrero. That will match his third place in the 2015 Giro.
16:04 - Bravo, Vincenzo!
That's it, the two-time champion has completed his last ever pedal stroke on the Giro d'Italia. Nibali comes home in 48th place over two and a half minutes back on his countryman Sobrero - but it will be enough to see him finish his 11th and final Giro in fourth place.
16:02 - Hindley only one second slower
The Australian goes over the top just one second slower than Carapaz so he still has a cushion of 1:24. As long as he takes no risks, the maglia rosa is his.
16:00 - Birthday boy Carapaz goes over the top
There won't be a present wrapped in pink today for the 29-year-old. He's in the Ecuador national champion skinsuit and he's just gone over the summit for provisional 10th place at 57 seconds - not bad given everything that has taken place over the last few weeks, not least his implosion yesterday on the Marmolada.
15:54 - Hindley and Carapaz neck and neck
There's no difference in times between both riders as they embark on the climb... In six previous TT head-to-heads the Ecuadorian has come out on top ever time - but not the kind of gaps that he needs today. Meanwhile, Nibali has gone over the summit for the split down in 72nd so he's savouring this final ride in the Giro rather than going deep...
15:48 - Jai Hindley rolls down the ramp
Two years ago he started the final time trial in pink and level on time with Tao Geoghegan Hart but ended up conceding 39 seconds over the flat 17.1km course. Today, he has a bigger cushion of 1:25 on a course which suits him far better thanks to that climb. He should hold on - but let's not count our eggs before they hatch.
15:47 - Arensman into second
Amid all the flurry of top 10 starters, Thymen Arensman (Team DSM) roared into second place ahead of Van der Poel. The Dutchman was only 15 seconds down on Sobrero going over the climb at 9.5km and then came home 23 seconds down in provisional second.
Meanmwhile, Hugh Carthy put in a solid ride and is currently 10th in the provisional standings so he could well rise up a place on GC.
15:45 - Time for the podium... Landa then Carapaz set off
You never say never till its over so let's wait and see how this pans out. In reality, Carapaz has a bigger chance being caught by Landa than he does to catch Hindley - but you never know. There's a tricky descent, the Australian could crash or have a mechanical... So Carapaz needs to give himself his best shot and go for broke.
15:40 - Nibali's last ride on the Giro under way
Vincenzo Nibali, who will retire at the end of this season, rolls down the ramp to start the last 17.4km of his Giro career. He didn't get the farewell win he sought but he gave it his best shot and will finish fourth on GC. Solid - as always.
15:37 - Into the top five now
Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), Jan Hirt (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) and Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) have rolled down the ramp as the race enters the top five. Only four more to go in Nibali, Landa, Carapaz and the champion elect Hindley.
There could be a nice duel between Hirt and Bilbao for fifth place: the Spaniard currently leads the Czech by just 12 seconds.
15:32 - Koen Bouwman confirms the blue jersey
The Dutchman from Jumbo-Visma is nowhere near Sobrero's time but he brings home the blue jersey safely to become the first Dutchman in the race's history to win the KOM climbers' classification. He ended up on 294pts - considerably more than his nearest challenger Guilio Ciccone on 163pts. Bouwman also won two stages to make up for Jumbo-Visma's disappointing show in the GC race after Tom Dumoulin and Tobias Foss came up short.
Earlier today, Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) came home safely to secure the maglia ciclamino. The Frenchman won three stages and notched 254pts with his nearest challenger, Fernando Gaviria, on 136pts. Here's Demare riding through the arena in Verona...
Reminder that Matteo Sobrero is in the hotseat
The 25-year-old Italian TT champion currently holds a whopping 40-second lead over Mathieu van der Poel. It's unlikely anyone will catch him. Here's how he finished his effort earlier...
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'I love this bit' - Sobrero gets pink carpet treatment after destroying time trial
15:27 - Carthy, Lopez, Pozzovivo on course
Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost) can't really lose his place in the top 10 to Valverde but he could overtake Juan Pedro Lopez (Trek-Segafredo) into ninth: the two riders are just 27 seconds apart going into today's TT. Meanwhile, Domenico Pozzovivo's eighth is fairly secure - he's 1:30 clear of Lopez but five minutes behind Emanuel Buchmann in seventh.
15:19 - Valverde the last rider before the top 10
The Spanish veteran rolls down the ramp for the last time in his Giro career - he will retire at the end of the season - and it's now time for the top 10 riders, who will leave at two-minute intervals.
15:03 - Third best time for Ben Tulett
The Ineos Grenadier youngster finishes his debut Grand Tour on a high with a solid performance against the clock. He was really impressive on the Passo Fedaia yesterday before teammate Richard Carapaz imploded near the finish and he's just come home for provisional third place, 1.12 down on Sobrero and 32 seconds behind Van der Poel.
And here's where this TT is taking place...
15:00 - Kamna, Arensman & Kelderman on course
The Bora-Hansgrohe duo and the Team DSM rider have rolled down the ramp to get their rides under way. Kamna and Kelderman will be hoping they can pop some Prosecco corks (safely) later on when Jai Hindley hopefully brings home the maglia rosa.
15:00 - Van der Poel: TTs never lie
The Dutchman had this to say after coming up short on Sobrero's time: "I didn't manage to ride the power output I was aiming for but I should be happy - I'm not a time trial specialist, for sure. I tried but time trials never lie. I didn't have the best preparation for the Giro - it was really tight after the classics season - but I managed to achieve by big goal of a stage win and the pink jersey. I think I can be really happy. I came close to a second win twice but it was not to be."
14:53 - Second place for MvdP
The Dutchman can't come close to Matteo Sobrero's time and crosses the line 39 seconds down on the Italian. It looks like BikeExchange-Jayco will end up with a third stage win in this race following Simon Yates's brace - and a second TT win after the Briton's win in that short race against the clock back in Budapest on day two.
14:45 - Van der Poel with it all to do on the descent
It's the second best time for the Dutchman over the climb at 9.5km but he's 33 seconds down on Sobrero's time and will have to pull a rabbit out of the hat if he wants to pick up his second stage win on this Giro. He overtook American Will Barta of Movistar just past the summit, which must have been a blow for the Barta who was going all-in.
14:40 - Sobrero storms into the lead
Well, Schmid's time in the hot seat didn't last long... And that is an absolutely killer time from Matteo Sobrero who has surely won this stage with that near-perfect effort. He comes home a mammoth 1.17 faster than the Swiss. As Dan Lloyd says on the Eurosport comms, that's not just head and shoulders better than the rest, but head, shoulders, knees and toes...
14:37 - Schmid the new fastest time
The Swiss Mauro Schmid (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) was 18 seconds down on Magnus Cort over the top of the climb at the 9.5km split but he's just gone through the finish one second clear of the Dane to set the new provisional target time. He must have really bombed it down that descent - and that's perhaps an indication that the roads have now dried considerably for these later runners. It was raining earlier but that stopped.
14:33 - Sobrero obliterates Cort at the split
The Italian is having an absolutely stonking ride. He's ripped up that 4.5km climb to take a whopping 41 seconds off Magnus Cort's previous best time at the 9.5km intermediate check and is on course for what will surely be the stage win - unless, of course, that man Van der Poel can pull something out of the bag.
14:31 - Mathieu van der Poel rolls down the ramp
Another one of our big favourites for today has got his ITT started. Win and he'll bookend his debut Giro with stage wins. Here's what Van der Poel got up to yesterday on the Passo Fedaia...
14:24 - Matteo Sobrero on course
The Italian rider from BikeExchange-Jayco is one of the big favourites today and he's just approaching the climb. His teammates Michael Hepburn and Lawsom Craddock are both in the provisional top six for now.
14:17 - Magnus Cort storms into the lead
Could the Dane complete his Grand Tour grand slam today with an elusive Giro stage win to go with his six Vuelta victories and one Tour stage win? He's just poste the new fastest time of 23.42 at the finish - six seconds quicker than Hepburn and 12 seconds faster than Affini. Chapeau, Magnus.
14:15 - Affini comes up short
Edoardo Affini (Jumbo-Visma) made up some of his deficit but ran out of road there as he comes home six seconds down on the leader Michael Hepburn. It's six seconds quicker than the Swede Tobias Ludvigsson of Groupama-FDJ.
14:11 - Quickest split time for moustachioed Dane Cort
The EF Education-EasyPost rider has been very active in the final week of this race and he's just gone and posted the quickest time at the Torricella Massimiliana summit. Magnus Cort is five seconds clear and is clearly a man on the mission.
14:06 - Affini 13 seconds down at split
The Italian will need to have a quick second leg if he wants to win today... He's 13 seconds down on Hepburn over the climb and behind Magnus Cort looks to be having a bit of a storming ride too...
11:58 - Hepburn the new fastest finisher
Matthew Holmes didn't maintain that early pace he showed on the climb and came through the finish in provisional third place - pushed down to fourth now after Michael Hepburn (BikeExchange-Jayco) absolutely monsters his way home. The Australian is over a minute quicker - 1.05 to be precise - than Van den Berg, so we have a new target time of 23.48 at the finish. So, an early reference there for BikeExchange, whose Italian rider Matteo Sobrero is the man many people have down for the win.
Hepburn was the quickest over the top of the climb with his American teammate Lawson Craddock - in his stars and stripes skinsuit - passing over afterwards 26 seconds down. Let's see how Affini fares on this climb...
13:53 - Affini rolls down the ramp
One of the big favourites for today, Edoardo Affini of Jumbo-Visma, has just got his time trial started. The Italian has been in good form in the third week of the race - he was in the four-man break that went the distance when Dries De Bondt won in Treviso a few days ago, and then again the next day on the road to Santuario di Castelmonte to help set up teammate Koen Bouwman for the win.
13:48 - New fastest split for Matthew Holmes
The Lotto Soudal rider has beasted the climb to set the new intermediate target of 15.52 - some seven seconds quicker than Van den Berg. It will be interesting to see if the Briton can maintain that on the return leg.
13:43 - Alex Dowsett well down
The British rider may be able to cover 54.555km over the course of an hour while cycling around in circles in a velodrome... but he can't replicate anywhere near as much power on a drizzly Sunday afternoon in north-east Italy. His time of 27.17 is currently the 15th best time at the finish - a whopping 2.24 down on the leader, Van den Berg.
13:35 - New fastest time for Van den Berg
Dutchman Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) went over the top of the climb quickest (15.59) and has now knocked Serry from the hotseat by a few seconds at the finish with a time of 24.53. Alex Dowsett is about to come home...
13:26 - Serry the first to finish
The Belgian Pieter Serry sets the target time of 24.56 after he completes the 17.4km course in an average speed of 41.860. Serry also has the fastst time at the intermediate check atop that climb: 16.07. After the finish the riders are directed onto a pink carpet which leads them through an archway and into the old roman amphitheatre where crowds will gather to cheer on the pink jersey later on and watch all the podium ceremonies.
13:24 - Who are the favourites for today?
It would be very strange if today's winner was not one of the following riders: Edoardo Affini (Jumbo-Visma), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix), Tobias Foss (Jumbo-Visma), Thyman Arensman (Team DSM), Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) and Matteo Sobrero (BikeExchange-Jayco). Should Van der Poel win then he will bookend his debut Giro with stage wins...
13:19 - It's started to rain
This will add a bit of doubt and trepidation... It's not a heady shower - just a persistent drizzle - but the road is wet as Brandle comes over the top of the climb,which is where the intermediate time check is taken. Further up the road, Serry has passed Kluge and will soon be the first to cross the line. The rain is forecast to clear before the GC favourites, although that's not to say the roads will be wholly dry.
Just down the ramp goes Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) who will win a second maglia ciclamino today two years after his first. The Frenchman notched three stage wins in this race and was by far the most consistent sprinter.
13:15 - Alex Dowsett on course
Britain's Alex Dowsett (Israel-Premier Tech) has just rolled down the ramp. He's had a pretty uneventful Giro - we've hardly seen him at all - amid a team that has really left no mark on proceedings whatsoever. They'd love to turn that round today but the course will not suit Dowsett.
13:12 - The climb looks pretty tough
The camera was just following Austria's Matthias Brandle, the former Hour Record holder, who would, at least on paper, be a rider to back today. But he looks completely zonked on this 4.5km climb up to Torricella Massimiliana which has an average gradient of 5% but will take its toll on the collective wearly legs after such a challenging three weeks.
12:59 - Roger Kluge, the maglia nera, gets the ITT going
It's the last man on the general classification - the German Roger Kluge (Lotto Soudal) - who is the first down the ramp. Unless he's 15 minutes quicker than Pieter Serry on this course, he will be guaranteed the "maglia nera" - the black jersey - as the last man in the standings of this Giro today.
They're setting off at a minute and a half's interval so it's the Belgian Serry (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) who is next ahead of Matthias Brandle (Israe-Premier Tech), Bert van Lerberghe and Mark Cavendish (both Quick-Step).
Riders on the rollers, Stage 21 almost under way
It's not long now before the first rider will go down the ramp and get this 17.4km TT around Verona under way. There's one climb slam-bang in the middle but you can't see Hindley losing 1:25 to Carapaz - even if he channels his inner Denis Menchov and crashes while in pink... Here's what's in store for each of the remaining 149 riders...
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Stage 21: Verona – Verona
Image credit: Eurosport
Opinion: Bora and Hindley won the Giro more than Ineos and Carapaz lost it
Just when we thought the climax of the 2022 Giro d’Italia was going to be a damp-squib, Jai Hindley and Lennard Kamna combined to devastating effect to break Richard Carapaz’s dreams of a second maglia rosa. While it’s hard to find fault with Ineos Grenadiers, Bora-Hansgrohe got their tactics spot on to all but secure a first ever Giro triumph for an Australian rider.
Jai Hindley was right: he hadn't come to the Giro "to put socks on centipedes" after all. Hindley uttered that deliciously Australian expression after slashing Richard Carapaz's lead to three seconds in Aprica at the start of the third week - the same three seconds by which he trailed his rival for pink going into Saturday's final day in the mountains.
Not any more. It seems Hindley's Bora-Hansgrohe knew what they were going all along. That 150km shift on the front of the peloton on Friday’s Stage 19 did serve a purpose after all – as the first part of a masterplan that ultimately broke Richard Carapaz’s dreams of pink and propelled Hindley to certain glory.
With a little bit of help from his friend Lenny Kamna, Australia’s Hindley went into the red to take pink – and this time even a shoddy time trial in the race’s official pink skinsuit won’t take it from him on the final day. All talk of the 26-year-old’s breakthrough performance in 2020 being a fluke had been put to bed in the final kilometres of the climb they call the Queen of the Dolomites. Read on below...
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Richard Carapaz of Ecuador and Team INEOS Grenadiers Pink Leader Jersey, Jai Hindley of Australia and Lennard Kämna of Germany and Team Bora - Hansgrohe compete while fans cheer during the 105th Giro d'Italia 2022, Stage 20
Image credit: Getty Images
STAGE 20 RECAP: Hindley in pink after Carapaz cracks on Marmolada, Covi wins Stage 20
The stars finally aligned for Bora-Hansgrohe and Jai Hindley after the Australian cracked his pink jersey rival Richard Carapaz on the final climb of the Giro d’Italia in the Dolomites on Saturday. Hindley’s unforgiving burst of pace on the steep Marmolada, or Passo Fedaia, inside the final few kilometres of Stage 20 snapped the elastic for the Ineos Grenadier leader, who battled to limit his losses but fell 1:25 behind his rival ahead of the final time trial on Sunday.
Hindley’s decisive acceleration came moments after he joined forces with teammate Lennard Kamna after the German rider dropped back from the day’s break to give his leader a timely leg-up while Carapaz was on the ropes. Kamna then stuck to the back wheel of the 2019 champion as Hindley danced up the final hairpins of the Passo Fedaia on his way to the best sixth place you will see all season.
Victory on the so-called Queen of the Dolomites went to Alessandro Covi (UAE Team Emirates) who proved the strongest of the day’s 15-man breakaway that formed before the preceding climbs of the Passo San Pellegrino and Passo Pordio, the highest point in the race. After cresting the Pordoi to take the prestigious Cima Coppi prize, Covi held off a late chase from the Slovenian Domen Novak, whose Bahrain Victorious leader Mikel Landa was unable to produce the same devastating dig as Hindley when push came to shove in the 105th edition of La Corsa Rosa.
With Carapaz crumbling under the pressure of falling behind, Landa was able to catch and pass the man in pink on his way to taking ninth place on the stage and consolidating his third spot on the podium, 1:51 down on the champion elect.
Of course, it won’t be the first time Hindley has started the Giro’s final time trial in pink: two years ago, he famously conceded the maglia rosa on the last day after losing the race of truth to another Ineos rider, Britain’s Tao Geoghegan Hart, when the two started level on time after 20 stages.
With only three seconds separating Carapaz and Hindley going into the penultimate stage, the latter’s clinical ride on the Marmolada will give him a near-unassailable buffer – even in the event of the rainy forecast.
Hindley’s gap of 1:25 ahead of the 17.4km ITT should mean that even a bad day in the office – or a Denis Menchov-style crash in pink – will not stop the 26-year-old from becoming the first Australian to win the Giro d’Italia following what he described as an “epic” day in the Dolomites.
Jai Hindley: It was an epic stage and a brutal finish
“I knew this was going to be the crucial stage of the race,” the Australian said before stopping the interview to celebrate with a teammate. “It was a brutal finish. If you had the legs you could make the difference. We stayed patient and we saved our matches until today. It was perfect. We had Lenny in the breakaway and he couldn’t have timed it better to drop back and give me a boost up the road. When I heard that Carapaz was dropping the wheel, I went all out. It was an epic stage.”
Asked whether 1:25 was enough for him to hold on tomorrow, he said: "I don’t know. We’ll see how that goes. It’s always hard to say how a time trial will go on the last day of a three-week race but I’ll die for the pink jersey tomorrow."
HOW CAN I WATCH THE GIRO ON TV AND LIVE STREAM?
Each and every stage will be broadcast in its entirety on Eurosport, discovery+ and GCN+, bookended by The Breakaway, presented by Orla Chennaoui and Dan Lloyd. Rob Hatch and Hannah Walker will be in the commentary box with regular contributions from pundits Robbie McEwen, Sean Kelly and Adam Blythe, with Bradley Wiggins doing his thing on the back of a motorbike.
WHEN IS STAGE 21?
Tune in from 12:30 BST to watch Stage 21 of the Giro d'Italia. Watch uninterrupted coverage on eurosport.co.uk and discovery+, or watch the action on Eurosport 2.
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