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Hindley had another tough stage of toil ahead of him as he battled an injury sustained the previous day, and it proved to be a bad one for his general classification hopes when he was dropped midway up the final climb.
Rafal Majka’s surge for UAE Team Emirates’ plot to launch Tadej Pogacar was the final straw for Hindley, though he continued to fight all the way to the finish, visibly struggling as he crossed the line 1’54 down on Pogacar and yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma).
The Australian 2022 Giro d’Italia winner had been sitting pretty in third overall, but he has since ceded over three minutes to nearest rival for the final podium spot, Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Grenadiers) and a little less to Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) who leapfrogged Hindley for fourth, with the Australian now in fifth.
All of that time lost has come after Hindley hit the tarmac in a mass crash on stage 14 of the race, taking some skin off and having an impact on his glutes and back.
“To be honest my back was really cooked after yesterday,” Hindley told SBS Sport after Stage 15. “It was really painful after yesterday, the physios and the staff here tried to help and manage it as best as possible, but it was still super painful.
“I was really struggling to get power out of my legs and back to be honest.”
Hindley is unlikely to drop much lower unless he truly blows up, with Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) the nearest ride 2’38 behind, and not likely to try and attack Hindley’s position, but the Australian pointed that there’s no margin for error at the Tour de France.
“The level is just so high now and if you’re not at your very best it’s really hard to be up there,” said Hindley. “I just did my best, and unfortunately, I just got smoked today.”
The 27-year-old is looking forward to getting some time off tomorrow, and rejoining the battle on stage 16, the one and only time trial at this year’s Tour de France.
“You’ve got to stay positive and you’ve got to stay optimistic,” said Hindley. “Hopefully, we can fix my back up a bit on the rest day tomorrow. Then a tough TT and the last week of racing. Still plenty of hard days to come.
“There’s a lot of Aussie flags out there, so thanks to everyone for the support, out on the road or back at home.”
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Stage 15 - Daily Highlights - Tour de France 2023
