2 days Ago By Sophie Smith
Jai Hindley insists he has no beef with Australian rival Ben O’Connor as he prepares for the Tour de France, set to play a vital role in what could be one of the most open and hard-fought contests for the title in years. Perth climbers Hindley and O’Connor both competed for the yellow jersey last season, their exploits captured in a Netflix series on the 21-stage race, which this year covers 3498 kilometres over three weeks. Jai Hindley ahead of the start of this year’s Tour de France.
Credit: Joerg Mitter (Red Bull Content Pool) Tour de France: Unchained breaks the media’s unwritten Tour rules, with brazen crews ignorant of or indifferent to protocols cycling journalists have abided by and enforced like Bible commandments for decades. In this era, TV has priority and Netflix’s microphones loom over all conversations between reporters, riders, team staff, and even lovers. Nothing is sacred.
Cameras now loiter inside team buses that have previously been a sanctuary from the noise of the unremitting sport’s most-watched event. The dramatisation of a rivalry between two countrymen was different from the usual nationalistic camaraderie purported by Australian media, such as Simon Clarke last year mustering all the Aussie riders together for a photo before battle commenced. But it did make for gripping viewing.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s Grand Depart in Florence, Italy, Hindley set the record straight. “Netflix, they just take the piss, and cut and change and dra.
