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Hindley made waves as he won Stage 5 and wore the yellow jersey of the overall Tour de France leader in the opening week of the Tour.
By the Tour's halfway point, Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Emirates) had shown that they are in a league of their own when the road heads upwards, but smart, consistent riding by Hindley saw him sitting comfortably in third.
A crash on Stage 14 saw that buffer disappear in an instant. Hindley has been in damage control mode since and has lost almost four minutes on the general classification.
Nursing an injury to his back that is causing significant pain and a loss of power on the road, the likeable Australian entered the Tour's second rest day in fifth overall.
The battle for third has become a race within the race as questions abound about the extent of Hindley's injuries, and whether he can overcome them and his competitors, to stand on the overall podium in Paris.
With six exciting stages still to come, tonight's individual time trial (ITT) will prove crucial in providing a first set of answers.
1. What's the gap between third and fifth overall? And is it surmountable?
While Pogačar trails Vingegaard by a mere 10 seconds, it's a further five minutes and 11 seconds back to Carlos Rodríguez (INEOS Grenadiers) in third.
Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) is 19 seconds behind Rodríguez. Hindley sits 58 seconds behind Yates, but is almost three minutes ahead of Sepp Kuss in sixth.
Is it surmountable? Well, given how much the times between third and fifth have changed in the last two stages, we have to say yes. But Hindley will not be wanting to see that gap get much wider if there are strong hopes for turning it around in the two mountain stages that follow tonight's ITT.
2. How have Rodríguez, Yates and Hindley fared in past time-trials?
These three riders all raced the Criterium du Dauphine last month, which included a 31.1-kilometre ITT for Stage 4.
Yates finished eighth, 45 seconds behind Vingegaard's second place that day. Hindley finished 13th, 11 seconds behind Yates. Rodríguez finished a further 52 seconds behind Hindley.
While the Tour is a different, and much longer, beast, 30-year-old Yates secured a 13th-place finish in the 2022 Tour de France prologue, a result to be proud of.
He wasn't as strong by the 2022 Tour de France Stage 20 ITT where he finished 64th, but he'd worked mighty hard to help then-teammate Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers) to third overall that year while securing ninth overall himself.
22-year-old Rodríguez has some solid ITT credentials to boast about too. Notably, the Spanish road champion finished second and fourth in the two ITTs at the 2022 Vuelta a Espana, Spain's answer to the Tour de France.
Hindley's known for his climbing more than his time trialling, but he knows how to pace himself well and do what he needs to when it counts. His 15th-place finish in Stage 21 of the 2022 Giro secured him his maiden Grand Tour victory.
3. Is one rest day enough for Hindley to recover from his injuries?
Never have we wished so hard for a couple of flat stages so the general classification riders could hide in the bunch and freshen up for the next tough battle ahead. Unfortunately, that's not the case.
We don't yet know the full extent of Hindley's injuries, but we do know his team's physios and medical staff will be doing everything they can to get the Australian riding as powerfully as he can.
“It was another hard day out there and obviously not my best one," Hindley said after Stage 15.
"It’s hard to say how much the crash yesterday affected me but I suffered a lot again. Of course, fatigue does accumulate through three hard days in the mountains, but normally that plays to my advantage. Unfortunately, not today.
"But anyway, there was nothing more we could do. I tried my best, gave it my all, and now it’s all about recovering on the rest day.
"Although the podium is still within reach, I‘m focusing on recovering for now, because I’ll only have a chance when I am back to my best.”
The 2023 Tour de France route is brutal, including the equivalent of 6.4 times up Mount Everest in climbing. Stage 16's race against the clock leaves the riders nowhere to hide and Stage 17 on Wednesday is the toughest of the lot, dishing up 5,399 vertical metres over 166 kilometres.
Stage 16 route
Stage 17 route
We are crossing our fingers and toes that one rest day will be enough for Hindley to bounce back in shining form for these important stages ahead.
4. What about the head game? And keeping calm in the Tour de France chaos?
It's the Tour de France - anything can happen! Crashes, injuries, comebacks, setbacks, surprise attacks, you name it! But that's precisely why we love to watch the action as it unfolds!
Hindley's interviews are fast becoming another reason. Full of one-liners that make even the casual viewer proud to tune in from Australia, Hindley's interviews are also a great lesson in keeping a strong sense of perspective and taking each day as it comes, and enjoying racing on the world stage for all that it is.
These are lessons we can all learn from when it comes to staying optimistic but realistic, and keeping a cool head.
Whether or not Hindley finishes his maiden Tour de France on the podium, we can be confident that the final six stages will as entertaining as they are educating! And that the tough-as-nails Australian will be giving the race his absolute best.
