Jai Hindley signs long-term Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe extension during Tour de France

Jai Hindley has committed his future to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe after signing a long-term contract extension with the German WorldTeam.

The announcement comes just days into the Tour de France, giving the team a clear statement of continuity around one of its most important Grand Tour riders. Hindley has been with the squad since 2022, when he delivered the team’s first Grand Tour victory by winning the Giro d’Italia in his debut season.

Since then, the Australian has remained one of the team’s most consistent three-week race performers. He won stage 5 of the 2023 Tour de France and wore the yellow jersey, came within 30 seconds of the podium at the 2025 Vuelta a España, and returned to the Giro d’Italia this season to finish third overall.

That Giro podium was an important reset in his wider standing. As covered in our Giro d’Italia 2026 final classification recap, Hindley finished third overall for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe after a strong final week, reinforcing his place as one of the team’s central Grand Tour figures.

“I’m super happy and grateful to extend my contract and continue my journey with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe,” Hindley said.

“I love working with everyone in the team and to me it feels like a second family. I have big personal ambitions, as does the team and I believe this is the right environment to continue to grow and progress. Thanks to the whole team for the continued trust.”

Hindley remains central to Red Bull’s Grand Tour plans

Hindley’s extension keeps a proven Grand Tour leader inside a squad that has been reshaped by Red Bull’s arrival as a major backer. While the team has invested heavily in new talent and broader stage-race depth, Hindley remains one of its most reliable reference points in three-week racing.

His 2022 Giro victory remains a landmark result for the team. It was not only his own breakthrough at the highest level, but also the first Grand Tour overall win in the history of the German WorldTeam. That performance established him as more than a climbing specialist. It showed he could handle leadership, pressure, altitude, recovery and the tactical demands of a three-week race.

The years since have added weight to that reputation. His 2023 Tour de France stage victory into Laruns came from a strong breakaway ride and briefly put him in yellow, while his Vuelta and Giro podium near-misses have reinforced his consistency across different routes and race styles.

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe Chief of Sports Zak Dempster said Hindley’s value to the team goes beyond his results.

“Jai has been one of the world’s best Grand Tour riders for many years,” Dempster said. “What makes him so valuable to us goes beyond his results – he sets an important example for the whole team, particularly the next generation of Grand Tour riders. The fact that he has committed his future to our team is a strong statement.”

A mentor as well as a leader

The team also highlighted Hindley’s influence on its emerging Grand Tour riders, including Giulio Pellizzari and Luke Tuckwell. That is an important part of the wider picture.

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe are no longer building around a single protected rider. Their future is based on a deeper stage-race structure, with experienced leaders, developing climbers and riders capable of targeting different Grand Tours across the season.

That depth has already been visible this season. In our Tour de France 2026 team-by-team guide, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe were listed among the strongest GC squads in the race, with Remco Evenepoel as the central figure and Hindley, Florian Lipowitz, Mattia Cattaneo, Jan Tratnik and Maxim Van Gils giving the team options across different terrain.

Hindley fits that model well. At 30, he is old enough to offer experience but still young enough to remain competitive in the major stage races. He has already won a Grand Tour, finished on another Grand Tour podium and shown that he can perform across Italy, France and Spain.

That makes him valuable not only as a rider who can chase his own results, but as a stabilising figure around younger climbers learning how to manage the pressure of three-week racing.

Why the timing matters

The timing of the announcement is significant. Contract news during the Tour de France is always designed to land with maximum visibility, but this one also carries a sporting message.

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe are making clear that Hindley remains part of their future, not simply a rider from the pre-Red Bull era of the team. His extension suggests continuity rather than reinvention for its own sake. The team has changed, but Hindley’s place inside it has not been pushed aside.

That matters because Grand Tour teams need more than headline signings. They need reliable riders who can lead, support, adapt and shape the culture around them. Hindley has already done that across several seasons.

His 2026 campaign has only reinforced the point. He moved onto the Giro podium late in the race, with our stage 19 Giro d’Italia report showing how he climbed into third overall during the final mountain block.

That kind of result matters inside a squad trying to build lasting Grand Tour strength. Hindley did not simply preserve a placing. He improved as the race became harder.

What it means for Hindley

For Hindley, the extension gives him stability at a crucial point in his career.

He has already reached the top of the sport by winning the Giro, but his recent results suggest there are still major targets available. The near-podium at the 2025 Vuelta and third overall at the 2026 Giro show that he remains firmly in the Grand Tour conversation.

The challenge now is turning that consistency into another defining result. That may mean another Giro challenge, a return to the Vuelta as a podium contender, or a flexible Tour de France role depending on the team’s wider leadership structure.

In the current Tour, Hindley’s role has already been visible in the mountains. Our stage 3 Tour de France 2026 report noted how Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe used him to bring Evenepoel into position on the Les Angles summit finish, a reminder that Hindley can still shape the race even when he is not the named leader.

That versatility is central to his value. He can support a leader, cover dangerous moves, stay high on GC if given freedom, and become a protected option if the race opens unexpectedly. It is why he also featured in our guide to the best climbers at the Tour de France 2026, where his Grand Tour-winning pedigree stood out in Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s wider climbing group.

What is clear is that Hindley still sees Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe as the right platform for those ambitions.

“I have big personal ambitions, as does the team,” he said. “I believe this is the right environment to continue to grow and progress.”

A long-term statement from Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe

Hindley’s new deal is more than a contract renewal. It is a statement about the type of team Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe want to be.

They have a Grand Tour winner staying in place. They have a rider who has delivered across the Giro, Tour and Vuelta. They have an experienced figure who can guide younger climbers while still chasing his own results.

For Australian cycling, it also keeps one of the country’s leading Grand Tour riders at the centre of one of the sport’s most ambitious teams. Hindley is part of a strong Australian presence at this year’s Tour, covered in our guide to the Australian riders at the 2026 Tour de France.

For Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, the message is just as clear. Hindley may no longer be the only focal point of the project, but his extension confirms that he remains one of its defining riders.