Velonews: Porte Poised To Strike At Giro, Sits Third Overall



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Richie Porte is looking for his first grand tour win at the Giro. Photo: Tim De Waele | TDWsport.com
CIVITANOVA MARCHE, Italy (VN) — Richie Porte is in the position that he dreamed of while riding as an amateur in Italy or when he briefly led the Giro d’Italia in 2010. With two weeks to race in the 2015 Giro, he leads one of cycling’s strongest teams and sits in a striking position behind Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Fabio Aru (Astana).
If Porte (Sky) could pull it off, he would silence those critics that say he always has a bad day in a three-week race and make a bit of history. It would be his first grand tour win after several week-long stage race victories and the first one for an Australian in the Italian grand tour.
Cadel Evans, who won the 2011 Tour de France, came close in Italy with his third-place result in 2013, but he never pulled off the race that has been dominated by home riders and Spaniards.
Ahead of the three-week tour, Porte told reporters gathered in Sanremo, “I feel that it’s time for me to step out of the shadows and take my opportunities.”
Porte has always been a worker bee, first for Contador at Saxo Bank and then for Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome at Sky. It was not until 2014 that he was given his chance to lead a grand tour team in the Giro d’Italia and in the Tour de France.
However, he fell sick ahead of the Giro and was unable to race. In the Tour, he was still feeling the side effects of pneumonia and was unable to step up and lead the team after Froome abandoned due to crashes.
Doubts have circled around Porte’s ability to pull off a three-week race. Skeptics say he is always prone to one bad day, like last year’s Tour stage to Chamrousse.
“There’s no doubt about it,” Sky’s general manager Dave Brailsford said at last year’s Tour about Porte’s ability to someday win a grand tour.
“I think in the right race, in the right conditions, the right form… yes he can win. He just needs to get into a scenario where he’s on top and he’s fighting from the front.”
Porte is with the frontrunners if not on top. Contador leads the race by three seconds over Aru and 22 seconds over Porte.
Porte’s turnaround is due in part to him resetting this winter. He stopped drinking alcohol and began working closer with team coach Tim Kerrison. Results came immediately: a win in the Australian time trial championships, a second in the Santos Tour Down Under, and a string of stage race victories in Paris-Nice, Catalunya, and Trentino.
When the dust settled on Sunday’s Giro stage in San Giorgio del Sannio ahead of Monday’s rest day in Civitanova Marche, Brailsford spoke highly of Porte.
“As far as the first week of grand tours go, this stands out as being one of the best. It’s been exciting and spectacular every day and hopefully that will continue,” said Brailsford as Porte made his way for a helicopter transfer to Civitanova Marche.
“Richie’s been perfectly placed, he hasn’t put a foot wrong. He’s been at the right wheel at the right time and he’s never had to go into the red all week. Strategically he’s ridden a fantastic race so far.”
Of course, Porte is a long way from making history. The cyclists still face around 2,000 kilometers to the Milan finish May 31, which includes a 59.4km time trial Saturday and five summit finishes.
The post Porte poised to strike at Giro, sits third overall appeared first on VeloNews.com.


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