In the mixed zone of the blockhouse, a local TV reporter was trying to get some Italian out of Jai Hindley, winner of stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia. 'Jai, for two years in the Giro, you have spoken Italian very well. Congratulations. Hindley smiled and replied, "Oh, thank you very much," but it was his English that disappointed the reporter. The exchange continued for a couple more questions, and the reporter's persistence was eventually overwhelmed by Hindley's unchanging politeness. The Australian spent six months in the region during his formative years in 2015, living in nearby Montesilvano and racing in the colors of Alain Cucine's amateur team. Seven years later, he may be shy about using his Italian, but his local knowledge is unquestionable.

Passo Lanciano and Brockhaus were Hindley's training grounds at the time, and his familiarity with the climbs led him to this Giro d'Italia for his first real mountain test. He knew the roads. He knew the gradients. He knew the meat on the spit.

"I was happy to smell the aroma of arrostichini on the road today," said Hindley, who moved into fifth place overall, 20 seconds ahead of Maria Rosa and Juan Pedro Lopez (Trek-Segafredo). I used to live in Abruzzo when I was an amateur," said Hindley. I raced for six months with the Italian team Alain Cucine. I used to train a lot in Lanciano, so I know the climbs well. It was like a second home for me, so I'm really happy to win."

Hindley pedaled smoothly for most of the blockhouse toward a lead group that was gradually skewered by a strong chase by Ineos Grenadier. When Richard Karapas, Romain Bardet (DSM), and Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious) broke away with 4.6 km to go, Hindley initially tried to keep up, but then slowed down and João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates), He settled into a chase group with Domenico Pozzovivo (Intermarque Wanty).

"When Richie [Porte] got through, I knew they were going to attack. I knew the last kilometer was going to be a little flat. In the back of my mind, I knew I could make up some ground and I knew they were going to play a little game up front. Once I got going, I tried to make up as much ground as I could. And with 200 meters to go, I knew I wasn't going to lose any time, so I was able to run as hard as I could."

Hindley gained three lengths on the first acceleration, and despite a furious chase by his former teammate Bardet, he was able to pull away and win for the first time since his victory at the top of the Laghi di Cancano in the 2020 Giro. He took the maglia rosa in the final time trial in Milan to finish second overall, but his 2021 campaign was marred by bad luck, including an early retirement in the Giro.

"Last year was not really smooth sailing during the season," Hindley said. "I had a lot of illnesses, some crashes. In the Giro, I had to pull out of the race because I was suffering from terrible saddle soreness. I took some time off after that, but the saddle soreness affected my whole season. It wasn't a good year, but I'm happy to be back.

Two years ago, when Hindley last sat in the press conference room after a stage win in the Giro, he faced questions about the hierarchy of the Sunweb team after his teammate Wilco Kelderman was separated in Stelvio. Hindley changed teams during that time, but the question of "who is the boss?" remains the same.

Beulah Hansgrohe had the Troika leader in this Giro, but Kelderman's challenge for the podium ended when he was 11 minutes away in the Brockhaus. However, Emmanuel Buchmann did well to finish 7th in the stage and is in 9th place overall by 1:09. Hindley suggested that the internal hierarchy has not yet been established, despite a 49-second gap in the GC.

"We came here with pretty high ambitions for GC: Emu and Wilco are pretty good bike riders too. 'Emu and Wilco are pretty good bike riders too. This is the early part of the race, but we still have a long way to go. I'm really happy to have more options and cards to play on the team.