Named by Michael Albasini as the rider most likely to threaten his yellow jersey in the Tour of Britain, Richie Porte said that he is determined to fight on in the race. The Australian spoke to VeloNation at the end of yesterday’s stage, and said that he wanted to improve on his third place overall.
“I look forward to the climbs. I think it is going to be fun,” he said. “I have a good team here as well. The only problem is that the hills are so far from the finish line, so it makes it a little hard.
“That said, Albasini is in top form, it will be hard to dislodge him. And he has such a good team – Tony Martin is worth about five men himself. I will take it day by day, you just don’t know what is going to happen.”
Porte jumped clear of the yellow jersey group at the end of yesterday’s stage to Swansea, showing his climbing abilities when he gapped the-then race leader Greg Henderson on the final climb of Constitution Hill. He finished seventh on the stage, 1 minute 15 seconds behind the solo winner Michael Albasini (HTC Columbia) and ended the day one minute 28 back and third overall.
He also remained at the head of the King of the Mountains and Sprints competitions, but said that he was more concerned about trying to take yellow rather than setting for those. “They are not really a major concern for me,” he admitted. “Maybe the climber’s jersey, but the sprint jersey is just nice to wear. Whatever happens, it has been a good, fun Tour for me so far, and it has been good training for the world’s time trial.”
Porte is in the first year of a contract with the Saxo Bank team and has been very impressive. His performances include a stunning time trial win in the Tour de Romandie, followed up by a spell in the Maglia Rosa at the Giro d’Italia, victory in the best young rider classification and seventh overall in the race. More recently, he finished tenth in the Clasica San Sebastian, second in the time trial in the Tour of Denmark, fourth in the TT in the Eneco Tour and fourth overall there. The Tour of Britain is simply a continuation of that form, and highlights the ability of the 25 year old.
When asked if the season has been better than expected, he confirmed that it had. “Yes,” he answered. “For a neo pro it has been quite amazing.”