Chris
Hamilton

2019 was a year of firsts for Chris as he took his maiden top ten finish on GC in the WorldTour at the Tour Down Under where he ended the race in sixth place (he would subsequently also finish in the top ten at the Tour de Pologne), and he also took his first GrandTour top ten when he finished ninth on stage 17 of the Giro d’Italia.

“In this game you can spend a lot of time feeling like you’re banging your head against the wall, with the suffering and so on. When you have a race and you’re in form and one of the top guys though, then it is amazing. It’s really nice when the other guys work for you, it’s such a good feeling to then give something back with a good result. Spending a lot of time working as a domestique myself, I know how much work they do.”

In 2020, he would continue his development with the team and prove to be a pivotal piece in the puzzle for the team’s brilliant double podium at the Giro d’Italia, with a similar upwards trajectory on display in 2021 as he took a stage podium at the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España.

Having rode on two wheels for as long as he can remember, Chris’ initial love was for mountain bikes or BMX but in 2016 he switched over to road cycling full time and hasn’t looked back since. In fact, the Aussie still can’t believe he gets to do his passion as his full-time job.

“It seems like such a normal job when you’re on the road but when you take a step back it is a pretty crazy lifestyle. Especially when you go to a GrandTour the rest of the world doesn’t exist: you go into a black hole of bus – race – bus – hotel, you just don’t see anything else. It still amazes me that this is my job and I want to be doing it as long as possible.”

Although he’s serious when on a bike, Chris is laidback and up for a laugh when not competing and enjoys socialising with friends and family in his downtime; whether that be at home in Australia or in the cycling haven of Girona. Although he concedes that he almost lives two different lives depending on where he is, and that he is much busier in Australia, either catching up with more people or working on his cars and motorbikes.