Richie Porte Discussion Thread.

[Publicus]

“I don’t think I need to be on the attack. Alberto is the one. He’s got to take a lot of time in Vincenzo. That’s good for me, because the other guys have to be playing catch-up,” Porte said. “Not having Chris here, it’s not great, but we are looked at less in the race to control things. Movistar, Saxo, and Astana, they’re the ones with the pressure. It’s a bit strange for Sky to take the back seat, not take on the race on so much.”

Read more at http://velonews.competitor.com/2014...deren-bounces-back_335879#TSK7A2icJHtUdHKP.99

So basically Porte is only racing to hold on to the podium (AC is only 36" in arrears to him). That sucks. He should be racing to win....

 

[maxmartin]

“They [Tinkoff] are riding sort of like Sky usually do,” Richie Porte said after stage 8 of the Tour de France. “I guess … they were good today, but I guess it’s a little bit hard for Astana. They have had the jersey for almost a week now.”

“It’s as good a condition as I’ve ever been. It’s been a bit rough start of the year, but now I think I am back where I need to be,” he said. “I am an outsider, it’s unrealistic to be thinking about winning the Tour. I am certainly aiming for that podium. That’s my big goal now, to be as close to that to Paris as I can be. It’s a chance of a lifetime.”

 

[Ripper]

It was pretty close between the two, and that wasn't even Richie's kind of stage. There's no way he doesn't put some time into Nibali on some of the climbs to come. Just too good. Richie is strong, there's a Froome in there somewhere waiting to come out.

LMMFAO!! That's too funny!

 

[JRanton]

Porte's bound to have a bad day but then I don't think it would be a shocker if the vast majority of the other top GC riders did too. I was taking a look at the route earlier and was frankly stunned by how few easy days there are left on paper until they reach Paris. The next big bunch sprint won't be until stage 15 and even that's 222km and hilly for the first half! This is a tough route. By the time we reach Hautacam/final TT many of the GC riders will be on their knees.

 

[movingtarget]

Solid ride by Porte and he put time into riders like TJVG and Valverde. Looking good so far.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Good signs for Porte last night. I figure that the early mountain stages would/will be the hardest for him since he is coming into the Tour without many racing miles in his legs. If he can limit his losses in the Alps then he could be very strong by the Pyrenees. Being fresh this season could eventually work in his favour. Only time will tell, but it's good to have an Aussie again in the mix in the biggest race in cycling in the GC.

 

[Forunculo]

I remember on stage 1 or 2 he crashed and was a minute back of the peloton. Perhaps a lost chance to take time on him for many.

 

[Jancouver]

His riding style or rather wheel-sucking style reminds me of those such Levi Leipheimer. If peloton was full of those suckers I would stop watching climbing stages. Froome, Contador, Nibali, Valverde, Purito and even TJVG or Talansky will attack from time to time but I doubt we can see any of that from Porte. He must be the most boring GC rider in this TDF.

 

[movingtarget]

His riding style or rather wheel-sucking style reminds me of those such Levi Leipheimer. If peloton was full of those suckers I would stop watching climbing stages. Froome, Contador, Nibali, Valverde, Purito and even TJVG or Talansky will attack from time to time but I doubt we can see any of that from Porte. He must be the most boring GC rider in this TDF.

He seemed to be attacking when the won Paris Nice. Usually he is working for Froome. He didn't attack yesterday because he couldn't and he admitted as much.

 

[Cookster15]

His riding style or rather wheel-sucking style reminds me of those such Levi Leipheimer. If peloton was full of those suckers I would stop watching climbing stages. Froome, Contador, Nibali, Valverde, Purito and even TJVG or Talansky will attack from time to time but I doubt we can see any of that from Porte. He must be the most boring GC rider in this TDF.

You must have missed this? Didn't look like wheel sucking to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON1vYP_oiXc

 

[Kwibus]

His riding style or rather wheel-sucking style reminds me of those such Levi Leipheimer. If peloton was full of those suckers I would stop watching climbing stages. Froome, Contador, Nibali, Valverde, Purito and even TJVG or Talansky will attack from time to time but I doubt we can see any of that from Porte. He must be the most boring GC rider in this TDF.

Ridiculous post. Porte usually is a domestique pulling hard for Wiggins back in the Wiggins years and now for Froome. The chances he had and if he was good then he actually did attack.
How often does he ride for his own? Let's wait and see what he will do. He will likely follow this TdF since Contador is probably simply the better climber.
Still I think comparing Porte to Leipheimer is ridiculous. He hasn't raced for his own goals enough.

 

[MBotero]

“I don’t think I need to be on the attack. Alberto is the one. He’s got to take a lot of time in Vincenzo. That’s good for me, because the other guys have to be playing catch-up,” Porte said. “Not having Chris here, it’s not great, but we are looked at less in the race to control things. Movistar, Saxo, and Astana, they’re the ones with the pressure. It’s a bit strange for Sky to take the back seat, not take on the race on so much.”

Read more at http://velonews.competitor.com/2014...deren-bounces-back_335879#TSK7A2icJHtUdHKP.99

I don't like this,he's trying to go the defensive way.For me would be better for him to put at good use guys like Kiryienka,Thomas or Nieve these guys can do some damage in a good day,better to use them to bring on the pain then let them dropped by Astana,Tinkoff or Movistar without giving a dig at the front.If Sky go on defensive mode will end bad for Richie,but we'll see.

 

[Ferminal]

Clueless. Can't believe people even still roll out "wheelsucker" in the context of mountains as it simply doesn't exist if you're at threshold so can only be used if you're riding sub-threshold to make someone else chase (tactics) which is why it is far more common in classics. Likewise, the numerous occasions in which Porte has crushed his rivals on MTFs are not the result of attacking riding but simply being better than everyone else. Do not confuse strength with aggression/weakness with passivity. Contador (and Quintana from what we have seen so far) are the only true aggressive stage racers (in mountains), everyone else is a wheelsucker...

When he wasn't a stage racer/mountain dom he was "crazy aggressive" e.g. 2010 after the Giro and even the years before pro.

 

[maxmartin]

I don't like this,he's trying to go the defensive way.For me would be better for him to put at good use guys like Kiryienka,Thomas or Nieve these guys can do some damage in a good day,better to use them to bring on the pain then let them dropped by Astana,Tinkoff or Movistar without giving a dig at the front.If Sky go on defensive mode will end bad for Richie,but we'll see.

SKY could play the long game, let Tinkoff and Astana fight in the first two weeks, then give the final blow in the third week. Also the atmosphere in SKY is so relaxing now, we could be in a treat for surprise.

 

[maxmartin]

SBS starts to hype RP

Richie Porte - A champion in the making !

http://www.steephill.tv/players/720...hboard=tour-de-france&id=303466563890&yr=2014

 

[maxmartin]

“We would be crazy not to. You always have to be ready, alert and look for your opportunity. For the time being, there are two teams slugging it out with each other. Let’s see if we can capitalise on that,” Brailsford suggested.

"If you are in our situation and there are two big characters, two big teams, who are looking to lock horns, our game plan has to be more about biding our time and taking our chances, and waiting for the right moment."

Porte made it clear he is ready for his big day out as soon as Froome left the Tour de France.

 

[DonMI6]

SBS starts to hype RP

Richie Porte - A champion in the making !

http://www.steephill.tv/players/720...hboard=tour-de-france&id=303466563890&yr=2014

They drive me crazy! It's been such a relief to have no Cadel Evans this year so Mike Tomalaris can't start gushing about him every 30 seconds. It must have been a very busy few hours putting together the 'Porte will win the Tour' BS & he finishes with "But let's not put too much pressure on him!"

I honestly wish Chris Froome was still in the race, just to shut Mike Tomalaris up.

 

[maxmartin]

They drive me crazy! It's been such a relief to have no Cadel Evans this year so Mike Tomalaris can't start gushing about him every 30 seconds. It must have been a very busy few hours putting together the 'Porte will win the Tour' BS & he finishes with "But let's not put too much pressure on him!"

I honestly wish Chris Froome was still in the race, just to shut Mike Tomalaris up.

well tomorrow we will have a first glance whether the bull**** can turn into something haha

 

[Taxus4a]

He is a good rider, he is the best in a short climbs with head wind, becouse he is very aerodinamic in the climbs. He is a good trialist, but for me he has to show more in three weeks to consider him a favourite.

 

[maxmartin]

He is a good rider, he is the best in a short climbs with head wind, becouse he is very aerodinamic in the climbs. He is a good trialist, but for me he has to show more in three weeks to consider him a favourite.

are you sure about the short part? He and Sir B said he prefer long climbs.

 

[Pricey_sky]

are you sure about the short part? He and Sir B said he prefer long climbs.

I would say he's better at the longer climbs rather than the shorter explosive ramps. Tomorrow will be a much better indicator as to the chance he has of finishing in the top 3.

 

[movingtarget]

They drive me crazy! It's been such a relief to have no Cadel Evans this year so Mike Tomalaris can't start gushing about him every 30 seconds. It must have been a very busy few hours putting together the 'Porte will win the Tour' BS & he finishes with "But let's not put too much pressure on him!"

I honestly wish Chris Froome was still in the race, just to shut Mike Tomalaris up.

The Cadel fever is over even though it reared up again in the TDU and the first week of the Giro but then Tomo started to sound more and negative about Cadel's chances. I think Cadel is trying to come to grips with that himself and from his comments after the Giro he was very disappointed with his result although most keen fans expected as much and thought the podium was always going to be a stretch. Aussies are looking for a new hero but Cadel will always be fondly remembered like Phil Anderson and Robbie McEwen.

 

[offbyone]

Porte looks amazing right now. We will see if the consistency holds....

 

[Lupi33]

They drive me crazy! It's been such a relief to have no Cadel Evans this year so Mike Tomalaris can't start gushing about him every 30 seconds. It must have been a very busy few hours putting together the 'Porte will win the Tour' BS & he finishes with "But let's not put too much pressure on him!"

I honestly wish Chris Froome was still in the race, just to shut Mike Tomalaris up.

I think Mike Tomalaris is a passionate cycling buff and fair minded however he's working under instructions from SBS to hype up the Australian contingent to grab ratings from the non-cycling fan casual viewers.

I'm sure of it.

 

[DonMI6]

I think Mike Tomalaris is a passionate cycling buff and fair minded however he's working under instructions from SBS to hype up the Australian contingent to grab ratings from the non-cycling fan casual viewers.

I'm sure of it.

You may be right, but it always seems at odds with the usual balanced tone SBS adopts to have such strident fanboyism. I much prefer the more critical approach Craig Foster and others take when discussing the Socceroos.

I think Mike Tomalaris goes too far. I recall towards the end of the 2012 Dauphine Libre he made what to me was a quite outrageous comment comparing Brad Wiggins unfavorably to Cadel Evans. It sticks in my mind because even Henk Volkers seemed annoyed by it. As for his absurd insistance on placing Evans on a level alongside Sir Donald Bradman...

Sorry to drift OT....who were we talking about?