For a winner of one of cycling's Grand ซื้อหวย Tours, Jai Hindley has done a remarkable job of pedalling beneath the radar ever since.

But Australia's 2022 Giro d'Italia champion knows that's all about to end once he rides in the Criterium du Dauphine, a week-long acid test of whether he's really ready to contend at his debut Tour de France next month.

The man from Perth is so laid back that he's never appeared worried - publicly, at least - that he hasn't made a single podium in any race since his landmark triumph in Verona.

He's been solid for his BORA-Hansgrohe team ever since without ever shining in the same way he did in that Giro, finishing 10th overall in his next Grand Tour at La Vuelta.

Hindley doesn't have a big ego, and has been happy to continue to be a will-do, no-fuss team player with his German outfit.

Yet he clearly recognises the significance of stepping up in his first outing in the Dauphine, a week-long challenge beginning on Sunday that's become a trusty barometer of who's going to thrive at the Tour.

"It's pretty important," Hindley told SBS Sport.

"It's the last big dance before the Tour. It would be nice to get there and give it a good crack.

"It will give a good idea of who's going to be moving good when the Tour comes around."

Hindley would be the third Australian ever to win this prestigious race in the Dauphine region in the south-east France, following Richie Porte in 2021 and Phil Anderson in 1985.

The victors' roll of honour reads like a cycling who's who - including all the five-time Tour champs Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain.

But the quality is so "super high", notes Hindley, that last year's Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard, who'll start as favourite, didn't even win the 2022 Dauphine, beaten by the new Giro champion Primoz Roglic.

Hindley, who bypassed the defence of the Giro to concentrate all his energies on preparing for a Tour de France parcours that looks much more up his avenue, admits it was "tough" to see his Italian crown annexed in absentia.

He's not making any predictions about the Dauphine, admitting "I definitely enjoy three-week races more than one-week or one-day", but a place on the podium in Grenoble a week on Sunday would demonstrate his readiness for the bigger task ahead.

Hindley's Perth pal Ben O'Connor, who finished third last year, will also be out for another impressive dress rehearsal after an underwhelming season so far with AG2R Citroen.

"I'm just happy to race again and feel back to myself after what was maybe a slower start to the season," said O'Connor, who's among an eight-strong Australian contingent.

Remarkably, after the toughest of crash-hit Giros, Jack Haig will be back in action straight away for Bahrain-Victorious, hoping to improve on his fifth place last year.

AUSTRALIAN RIDERS AT THE CRITERIUM DU DAUPHINE

Rudy Porter(Team Jayco AlUla)

Chris Harper(Team Jayco AlUla)

Luke Durbridge (Team Jayco AlUla)

Robert Stannard (Alpecin-Deceuninck)

Harry Sweeny (Lotto Dstny)

Jai Hindley (BORA-hansgrohe)

Ben O'Connor (AG2R Citroen)

Jack Haig (Bahrain - Victorious)