After Back-to-Back Wins of Jasper Philipsen, Australian Cyclist Jai Hindley Takes Charge in Stage 5 of the Tour de France

The Le Tour de France 2023 edition is on its 6th day, and every day brings in a new surprise from the hilly terrains of Europe. The race that started from Bilbao, Spain, and traversed through the country in the next few stages, has finally moved to the Pyrenees of France. It was the conclusion of the 5th stage of the race yesterday, and what could’ve been a hat-trick of stage wins by Belgian cyclist Jasper Philipsen, has been stopped in the tracks by an Australian cyclist.

Jai Hindley won stage 5 of Le Tour de France, becoming the first Australian cyclist in 8 years after Rohan Dennis, to take a lead in the race. What looked like a stiff competition between Jasper Philipsen, Jonas Vingegaard, Adam Yates, Tadej Pogacar, Wout Van Aert, and a few others, now has a new competitor to challenge them.

Jai Hindley wins a stage in his first-ever Tour de France participation

Jai Hindley was over the moon after winning stage 5 of the Tour de France, which also happens to be the first mountain stage of the racing event. The course began in Pau, a commune in the Pyrenees, France, and went up to Laruns, also in the Pyrenees region. The entire distance was 101 miles, which is lesser than a few of the previous stages, but given the steep mountainous climb, it was more difficult.

“It’s really incredible and I’ve no words. The guys on the radio were screaming … I just wanted to get as much time as possible and get the win”, Hindley said to ABC News after his win. He even took to his Instagram and shared the moment from his victory with his hands in the air and a big, broad smile on his face.

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Hindley, who happens to be the 2022 Giro d’Italia winner, participated in the Tour de France for the first time in his life. He honestly didn’t know what he could expect from himself.

It is anybody’s game from here

Therefore, any form of success at the competition for Hindley was a huge deal for the 27-year-old cyclist. Hindley now holds a 47-second lead over defending champion from Denmark, Jonas Vingegaard. Vingegaard had the maximum attention on him going into this year’s Tour de France from cycling fans all around the world, curious if he could defend his title. However, going into the first stage, he fell 4 seconds short of his rival Tadej Pogacar, who came 2nd last time, whereas Yates won stage 1.

French cyclist Victory Lafay clinched the 2nd stage of the race, but after that, it had only been a one-man show for stages 3 and 4. Jasper Philipsen from Belgium won both stages and took a handsome lead. However, Hindley has taken the mantle for the moment and all the cyclists move to Tarbes for the next stage of the race. The competition only gets tighter from here on.

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