The highly promising young Australian rider Richie Porte has said that he is prepared for the pressure that the new season will bring, and feels that he is ready to step up a level as regards his performances in 2011.
“I’ll have more pressure next year but I feel I can improve many things. Of course there will be pressure but I am ready to make a good season. I think what I must do is to train and get myself ready as well as possible,” he told Cyclism’Actu.
Thus far, the former triathlete said that he has done most of his training in the pool as the weather was bad in Monaco, where he lives. He added that he was lucky to be able to return to Australia in European winter, and so he will be able to clock up plenty of warm-weather training there.
Porte had a stunning debut season with Saxo Bank in 2010, winning the time trial in the Tour de Romandie, wearing the Maglia Rosa at the Giro d’Italia, taking the best young rider classification there and placing seventh overall in the race.
He kept up his strong form into the second half of the season, finishing 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.
Two more fourth-place finishes followed: he finished just off the podium in the Tour of Britain, and missed out on bronze in the time trial at the world road race championships by just seven seconds.
At 25 years of age, Porte is one of the most promising young riders in the sport. He feels that is in perhaps the best team possible to help his development.
“Saxo Bank is probably one of the best teams to turn professional with. We do not have too much pressure to get results quickly and there is a good environment to grow in the best way,” he explained. “The Giro was stressful when I had the leader’s jersey but I must say that the support of the directors of the team was of great help in dealing with three weeks of racing.”
Porte’s likely role on the team in 2011 is undecided, as the outcome of the Contador case will determine if he is to be a support rider or if he and Chris Anker Sorensen will be thrust into the role of leader much earlier than they expected.
Describing the Contador case as a regrettable one in that he feels he has received a trial by media, Porte thinks it’s a difficult situation, whatever the outcome. “I think it's cycling which is the biggest loser in this case,” he asserted.
“Of course if Alberto is at Saxo Bank, I would be happy to help as best as possible in the Tour de France. It's sad to see that Schleck is gone but I believe that the arrival of Alberto is an exciting prospect for a young rider like me.”
If Contador does get to compete in the Tour, Porte would be a good bet to make the team due to his time trialling and climbing abilities. The Giro is the only three-week event that he has ridden thus far, and he wants to once again take part in those races in 2011.
“Next year, I really hope to target one of three Grand Tours,” he said. “I need to improve my abilities but when I do that, I hope to be ready to fight to get great results in such races. I also like a lot of races like the Classica San Sebastian and time trials.”
He said that events such as the Tour de Romandie and Tour de Suisse would also be future targets of his. On the basis of his season, there are grounds to believe that he can already be targeting top results in those in 2011.