Jai Hindley reportedly turns down Visma | Lease a Bike transfer in favor of Red Bull extension

Jai Hindley will not be joining Visma | Lease a Bike after this season after all, according to the usually well-informed cycling journalist Daniel Benson. In his Substack, the British journalist reports that Hindley will be extending his contract with Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe.

Hindley has been the talk of the town in recent weeks, not just because of his impressive third-place finish in the Giro d'Italia. The 30-year-old Australian, who also won the Giro in 2022, is currently in his fifth season with Red Bull. He started his very first year strongly in 2022, with a GC win at the Tour of Italy.

A year later, he also won a stage in the Tour de France and briefly wore the yellow jersey. Physically, however, Hindley faced a lot of challenges, something he finally overcame last year by finishing fourth in the Vuelta a España. This season, he added a podium finish in the Giro to that achievement.

With this result, Hindley has now stood on every step of the Giro podium. In addition to his overall victory in 2022 and third place in 2026, he finished second in 2020 for Team Sunweb, the team where he made his breakthrough as a cyclist.

Hindley’s performances naturally drew attention, including at Visma | Lease a Bike. The team has been linked to the Australian several times this year, as he was seen by the Dutch team as the successor to Simon Yates, who suddenly retired last winter.

Benson had already written during the Giro d'Italia that Hindley was still putting off a decision about his expiring contract with Red Bull, but now a decision has been made. “From multiple sources we’ve gathered, we understand that several riders are set to extend their contracts with Red Bull,” the report states.

"That includes Ben Zwiehoff, Jarrad Drizners, and Jai Hindley," said Benson, who called the contract extension for the more experienced Zwiehoff "a smart move." “Drizners also performed well in the Giro. You can count on him all year round—that’s an underrated quality when you’re building a big team.”

According to Benson, it is “increasingly likely” that Primož Roglič will not renew his contract with Red Bull. The Slovenian, of course, has a history with Visma | Lease a Bike, but unlike Hindley, he is typically in the final stage of his career.

Where Roglič will end up, or whether he will hang up his racing shoes, will become clear in the next few weeks.