With just four days until the start of his first Tour de France, Richie Porte has said that he is in his best shape yet this season, and is raring to go.
“Right after the Giro this year, I had two weeks of recovery and then I went in to my normal training rhythm and spent a few days in the Alps on training camp,” he said. “So physically, I'm ready to go and I actually feel much stronger than before going to the Giro this year.
“It's no secret that I have been suffering from health problems this season but I'm finally fully recovered and clear to go. Apart from that, I was so lucky enough to be able to spend some time with my girlfriend on vacation so mentally, I'm feeling refreshed as well.”
The physical and mental break is crucial for Porte who, for the first time in his career, will ride two Grand Tours in the same season. Many would be intimidated by that, and by making a debut in the Tour itself, but the laid back rider has said that he is relaxed.
The notion of a ‘no worries’ approach by Australians may be a stereotypical one, but in this case it rings true.
“I'm not really nervous about entering the race,” he said. “To be honest, I'm happy to say that I'm much more excited than nervous about going to the Tour. I actually have the feeling I had last year when I did my first Giro d'Italia - excited about being there.”
That Giro debut in May 2010 was much more successful than was anticipated beforehand. He held the pink jersey for several days and then took over the white jersey of best young rider, defending it until the end of the race. He also finished a superb seventh overall, something which marked him out as a future Tour de France contender. This year, though, his personal ambitions will be put aside.
Mission Maillot Jaune:
It all seemed very different last winter, when it looked possible that Porte could himself be leading the team. The mass exodus of riders to Leopard Trek had left the squad without its key GC riders, Andy and Frank Schleck, as well as the promising Jakob Fuglsang.
And while team owner Bjarne Riis signed Alberto Contador, his positive test for Clenbuterol meant that he was facing a likely ban of between twelve and 24 months. That thrust Porte into the limelight as the likely leader in the Tour, meaning that he would have full team support in his debut in the event.
Fast forward several months, and his role is now going to be very different. Contador has been cleared by his national federation and while both WADA and the UCI have appealed this, he is free to ride the Tour de France. That means that Porte is required to sacrifice his own chances. To his credit, he said that he is fully prepared to do so.
“My one and only role during the Tour de France is to support Alberto (Contador),” he pledged. “We are in the race to win overall and that means we have to be a hundred percent focused on the job and we have to know what to do and when to do it. Every one of us on the team has our own role during the race.
“Bjarne knows what he's doing when he picks his riders for the Tour de France line-up and he's good at delegating each and every small task to the right rider.”
He’ll hope to lead a team in the future, but for now he said that starting the Tour is enough. “It's an honor. I know it sounds like a cliché but it truly is a dream come true,” he said. “The Tour de France is what made me interested in cycling in the first place and even people who are not interested in sports in general know about the race. I guess every cyclist, young or old has been dreaming about being a Tour rider and here I am – on the verge of becoming one myself. It also means that Bjarne has confidence in me and surely that alone can boost anyone's self confidence.”
Emphasising that it is important to conserve energy for the decisive third week, Porte said that he believes in Contador’s chances. Even though he’s going to have less reserves than his rivals due to going deep to win the Giro, the Australian is convinced that his Spanish team-mate is a level above the others.
“I guess it's pretty simple – he's better than everyone!” he said. “This year alone he has won nine times already and I have a strong feeling that he is going to win the Tour de France as well. He's an excellent climber, he's doing a great time trial, he is extremely serious about training and he's fully aware of what he's doing all the time.
“I know that some people are questioning him and they think that he cannot be fully recovered from the Giro d'Italia, but I think he's ready to rock'n'roll.”
From the sounds of it, so too his Australian team-mate.