At last count, the gap was about 500 meters. When Jai Hindley (Team Sunweb) came out on Via San Paolo, the countdown clock hit zero and Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) was confirmed as the winner of the Giro d'Italia.

The unprecedentedly close race ultimately ended with a slight margin between the top two in the time trial. By a mere 36 seconds, this novel fall Giro was over, and as Milan was enveloped in darkness, Hindley climbed to the second step of the podium, while Geoghegan Hart, wearing a Maria Rosa, celebrated.

"It's been a real roller coaster ride," said Hindley, who visited the mixed zone at the end of the podium ceremony. It's been a lot of fun and a hell of an experience. It's bittersweet now, but it will sink in eventually. It's an incredible feeling to be on the podium outside the Duomo in Milan. It's fantastic."

Hindley and Geoghegan Hart started the 15.7 km final test in the same time, sitting only a few meters apart as they waited their turn in the start house at Cernusco Sul Naviglio, but Hindley sportingly closed the gap by standing up and giving his adversary a gut-punch. was sportingly bridged.

Past results against him suggested that Geoghegan Hart would win the Giro, but there was hope for Hindley, who was considered the strongest climber in the race. In the final weekend of the Grand Tour, anything was possible, especially at the end of such a tumultuous season.

For the first 2km or so, Hindley still had reason to dream. An informal check early on showed that the two were still on the same time, but gradually Geoghegan Hart was pulling away. Hindley pedaled in a more agile gear and took a tight line through the occasional corner. The race was pulling away from him, but the opportunity did not pass him by.

"Yeah, it was totally unreal," Hindley laughed. 'They were screaming in my ear the whole time. It was unreal.

"I wouldn't say it was scary, but it was something else. I wasn't really thinking about winning, I just wanted to do my best time trial. But unfortunately it wasn't enough.

The 24-year-old Hindley entered the Giro ostensibly to support his Sunweb teammate Wilco Kelderman, but he was also free to pursue his own overall ambitions. He rode well in Mt. Etna and Roccaraso, and was looking for a top 10 finish, but his race suddenly took a turn for the worse

when he crashed all but Kelderman and Geoghegan Hart in Piacavallo, and he was forced to race in the final race of the day.

At that point, Kelderman looked like the favorite to win the Giro, but paradoxically, the Dutchman's standing declined on the day he won the Maria Rosa. Hindley withstood Ineos's forced attack in Stelvio and won in Laghi di Cancano, but afterward Kelderman wondered if he should have asked the Australian to wait for him, given the time trial in Milan on the final day.

The situation was repeated in Sestriere on Saturday, with Kelderman's challenge going unresolved and the weaker Hindley in the time trial taking the overall lead. Kelderman was not looking for a Giro win in Milan, but only to defend his place on the podium.

"It's good that we both finished on the podium, but on the other hand it feels strange," Kelderman said on Sunday.

"From what I've seen on Twitter, we're taking a lot of flak as a team. 'I mean, we didn't do anything wrong as a team. Tactically, with our riders and their riding ability, we had a really good race.

"Sure we had two guys on the podium, and people might say why didn't we win, etc., but I actually think the coaches made the right decisions every day. I honestly don't think it could have been any better."

Hindley's disappointment was understandably evident as he rolled back toward the podium after the time trial, but less than an hour after the Giro he was able to place his performance in context.

Second place at last year's Tour de Pollogne and victory at this season's Herald St. Tour were small steps, but the Giro took Hindley to a new level. With Kelderman and Sam Omen leaving Sunweb this winter, he will be at the heart of the team's stage race plans for 2021 and beyond.

"I'm nothing special. I'm just a guy from Perth. I just had a dream as a kid to be a pro bike rider, and that dream came true. To be competing for a win in a Grand Tour is insane," Hindley said.

"I want to come back to the Giro. I love this race. It's brutal, but it's beautiful. I'll definitely come back."