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    Richard Carapaz, Egan Bernal and Jai Hindley: former winners looking for revival

    25/04/2025

    It hasn’t been long since Richard Carapaz (2019), Egan Bernal (2021), and Jai Hindley (2022) stood on the top step of the Giro d’Italia podium, living out one of the defining dreams of a pro cyclist’s career. And yet, in just a few seasons, the landscape of world cycling has shifted dramatically. New champions have emerged, quickly turning into insatiable phenoms and leaving only scraps for the rest. These three Giro winners, forever linked to the glory of hoisting the Trofeo Senza Fine, have each faced different challenges over the past two years. But this season, with pink on the horizon, they return to the Corsa Rosa hoping to tap back into the magic they once summoned on Italian roads.

    Richard Carapaz and the Giro d'Italia, a strong bond

    Carapaz, for instance, has never finished worse than fourth in his three Giro appearances – 4th in 2018, victory in 2019, and 2nd in 2022, when he was edged out by Hindley in that thrilling final showdown on the Marmolada. The last couple of seasons have seen him chasing his best form and the end of 2024 offered some promising signs: a stage win and the polka dot jersey at the Tour de France, followed by a 4th-place overall at the Vuelta a España. His start to 2025 hasn’t been spectacular, but if there’s one race where he can turn things around, that’s the Giro.

    Bernal’s story, on the other hand, was dramatically altered by the horrific crash he suffered in January 2022, just seven months after his Giro triumph, when he collided with a parked bus during training. The result: 20 fractures across his body and a genuine risk he might never walk again, let alone riding a bike. But the beloved Colombian climber never gave up. He returned to racing and now dreams to finally be able to fight for GC in a Grand Tour again. What matters most, as he has always reminded us, is simply being back in the bunch, chasing ambitions that once seemed lost. This January, he took his first wins since that fateful crash, claiming both the time trial and road race titles at the Colombian Nationals. A month later, he fractured his collarbone at the Clasica Jaen, but bounced back yet again with 7th overall at the Volta a Catalunya in March. He may not be the same Bernal of old, but he will still be one of the most cheered riders in the race.

    Egan Bernal to be reborn, Jai Hindley the standard-bearer of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe

    Hindley is the most recent Giro winner among the three, but even he hasn’t quite reached those same heights since his 2022 triumph. He has remained solid, even grabbing a stage win and a day in yellow at the 2023 Tour de France. It was the 2020 Giro where we first saw his potential, as he finished 2nd behind Tao Geoghegan Hart by mere seconds, and two years later he confirmed that promise by winning the whole thing. Now, three years on, he returns to the Corsa Rosa, the race where he shines brightest.

    That said, unlike Carapaz (EF Education–EasyPost) and Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), Hindley may find himself in a more restricted role. His Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe team includes none other than Primož Roglič, the undisputed favourite for this year’s Giro. Thus, it’s entirely possible the team will back the Slovenian fully. But don’t rule out a two-pronged GC strategy. Should anything go sideways, having Hindley high up in the standings could prove a smart move. If that happens, the Australian will have his chance to climb back toward the top, exactly where Carapaz and Bernal hope to find themselves.

     

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