After stage 15 of the Giro d'Italia, Jai Hindley exchanged happy first pumps with his Bora-Hansgrohe teammates, happy to have survived the Alpine mountain stage to Cogne, 7 seconds ahead of Richard Calapaz (Ineos Grenadiers). He was able to enter Monday's rest day in second place.

On Saturday, Beulah Hansgrohe tore the overall contending group to shreds on two mountain stages, the steep Superga and Colle della Maddalena. Leonard Kemna, Wilco Kelderman, and Emmanuel Buchmann set up Hindley, who finished with Carapaz and Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Cazacustan). Beulah Hansgrohe is probably as strong as Ineos Grenadiers.

On Sunday, Bora-Hansgrohe took a more conservative approach, as did the other overall contenders. Kemna went into the breakaway looking for a second success, but Hindley, Kelderman, and Buchmann stayed on the wheel, saving their strength for the third week of the Giro d'Italia.

"I think a lot of the riders were tired. Across the finish line, Hindley and his teammates descended a 22-km descent to the team bus for a three-hour ride to Salo for a rest day.

The overall contending pack finished 7:48 behind the day's winner, Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo).

"It was boring to watch, but Grand Tour racing is a long race. Yesterday was a hard day, today was not so hard. I think everyone was a little cautious."

"If the final climb had been tougher, it would have been a different scenario, but with a flat gradient like that, it's really hard to do anything in the final. I think everyone was like, let's just call it a day."

After 15 rest days of often intense racing, when the teams analyzed their overall standings, they would find that the top eight were ultimately balanced.

Hindley is 7 seconds ahead of race leader Karapas in the slipstream. Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) is 30 seconds back on the provisional podium, while Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious) is 59 seconds back. Domenico Pozzovivo (Intermarque Wanti-Gobert Materio) is fifth, 1:01 behind, and fellow Italian Highlander Nibali is eighth, 2:58 behind.

As Italian journalist Andrea Schiavone pointed out in the Cornu press room, in 2016, when Nibali won his second Giro d'Italia, he was 4:43 behind fourth place after stage 16. This year's Corsa Rosa is far more balanced and could stay that way all the way to the final time trial in Verona next Sunday.

As in 2020, when Hindley lost the Maria Rosa to Tao Geoghegan Hart, the Perth-born Australian will likely be fighting for victory until the last kilometer of the race.