Jai Hindley has ridden out of his socks at the Giro d'Italia and took the race lead today from his Team Sunweb team mate Wilco Kelderman. But it wasn't that long again the 24-year-old was racing our amateur riders in Ireland.
The Australian had just turned 20 years when he came to Ireland for the eight-day Rás Tailteann back in 2016. He was part of a brilliant, and very young, Australian national team that included Alistair Donohoe, Lucas Hamilton, Samuel Jenner and Michael Storer.
Hindley ended the race in 2nd overall, behind Clemens Fankhauser (Tirol Cycling), and won the young rider classification just ahead of his team mate Storer, who was also 3rd in the general classification that year.
Hindley began the race with 8th on stage 1 into Multyfarnham, with Jack Wilson the only Irish rider finishing ahead of him as he was 5th for An Post-Chainreaction.
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The following day - stage 2 of Rás Tailteann 2016 - Hindley finished in the bunch into Charleville when Irish amateur riders Eoin Morton and Bryan McCrystal attacked and survived out front for an Irish 1-2. On stage 3 into Dingle Hindley was 7th and moved into 2nd overall, with eventual winner Fankhauser in yellow.
On stage 5 into Clonakility the young Australian again finished in the bunch on a stage when a breakaway made it all the way; that lead group featuring Morton again, along with Damien Shaw and Conor Dunne.
Stage 7 would prove to be the closest Hindley got to a Rás Tailteann stage win as he was 2nd on the day from the breakaway, with current Ineos Grenadiers Irish rider Eddie Dunbar winning the day.
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Hamilton and Storer were also in the Rás break that day, meaning of a five-rider Rás breakaway on stage 7 in 2016, four have since gone on to WorldTour level.
The Australians in the Rás were all part
of a national set-up racing in Europe that year and took in a wide range of
events including the Tour de l'Avenir and the U23 classics.
Hindley has since gone on to win the Tour of Fuzhou overall as well as the Jayco Herald Sun Tour and the Toscana Terra di Ciclismo Eroica. Before taking the Giro race lead today he had won stage 18 of the race last Thursday.
Aside from Hindley, who will emerge from this Giro as winner or in 2nd place overall, some of the other riders who were also on the Australia Rás Tailteann team have gone on to big things.
Lucas Hamilton, now aged 24 years, rides for Micthelton Scott and has been a WorldTour rider since 2017, the year after he rode the Rás. He was 5th and 7th on stages of the Giro over recent weeks before being forced out after stage 9 and earlier this year he won a stage of Tirreno-Adriatico.
He won the mountains classification in the Tour de l’Avenir the same year he rode the Rás and won Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali overall last year; one among a series of big wins he has taken in recent seasons.
Michael Storer (23) now rides for Team Sunweb,
which he joined in 2018. He won stage 4 of the Rás into Buncrana and is
currently riding La Vuelta.
Donohoe, now aged 25 years, is still
racing in Australia, where he competes for the ACA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
Continental team. Samuel Jenner (23) is also
racing in Australia at present and competed for Continental outfit Team BridgeLane this year.
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