Aside from Volta a Catalunya winner Sergio Iguita, it would be hard to find a member of the Bora-Hansgrohe team who is as content after the race as Jai Hindley.

This time last March, the 2020 Giro d'Italia runner-up faced two retirements in mountain stage races, retiring from the Volta a Catalunya in the fourth stage and the Tour de Alps a few weeks later. As for the Giro, where he retired with saddle soreness on the day of the Zoncolan, it is probably best quietly forgotten.

Twelve months later, the story is quite different. Not only did his teammate Higuain win big in the Volta a Catalunya, but Hindley himself is on the upswing. What's more, he feels there is more to come.

The Australian, who finished 8th in the crucial mountain stage of Boi Tauru and 13th overall, has also been quietly delivering results in Tirreno-Adriatico, finishing 5th overall and 7th in the summit finish of the UAE Tour.

In a change from 2021, Hindley, like Higuain, seems to have quickly adjusted to his new team, Bora-Hansgrohe, for 2022.

"Super rough," was Hindley's candid impression of his last season with Team DSM, as he told Cycling News after the Pyrenean stage of the Volta a Catalunya. He said, "I got sick in Paris-Nice, and that continued in Catalunya. But compared to last year, I am very happy."

But fending off illness was not the only thing that provided a better foundation for 2022, according to Hindley. Last year, I was training at a much slower pace, but this time I've been training hard from a very early stage,"

and "I'm very happy with the way my training has gone."

"I'm very happy with the way my training has gone.

"The way cycling is going, you have to be in really good shape for every race if you want to be competitive.

"Ask me how this season went after the season is over," he said with a laugh. 'But for now, I'm just happy to be racing again.'

Hindley emphasizes that he has not yet reached his best form.

"There is still room for improvement. After Catalunya, I will be training at altitude in the Sierra Nevada in Spain for two or two and a half weeks."

"After Catalunya, I plan to do two or two and a half weeks of high-altitude training in the Sierra Nevada, Spain.

The Giro is a familiar course for Australians, but prior to the start in Hungary in early May, Hindley will test ride in the Ardennes rather than the Tour de l'Alps.

"We will go to Flèche and Liège," he said. After that it won't be too long before the start of the Giro."

"The important thing for me is not to overdo it in training and to find a good balance between racing and recovery."

It remains to be seen how far Hindley will reach in the GC contention for the Giro d'Italia this May, but all signs so far are much better, at least compared to 2021.