Richie Porte Discussion Thread.

[LaFlorecita]

Porte is 172cm fwiw

Quintana 167cm
Contador 176cm
Nibali 182cm
Froome 186cm

Edit: I know Quintana doesn't fit your "small caucasian" narrative as he isn't caucasian, but I highly doubt those 4cm give Contador such a big edge in GTs.

 

[Velolover2]

Re:

It's like some mediocre tennis player whose level is very consistent. He cannot beat Djokovic without all 10 planets of the solar system aligning for one glorious moment of extraordinary luck. He just lacks the weapons, the peaks in his game, that would enable him to do so. Take some slightly more erratic player who when he's on, he's ON. That guy can beat Djokovic. Richie is just below that guy, TeeJay is the mediocre tennis player and there are like 4 Djokovices at the Tour.

In cycling, there is at least room for surprises (Hejsedal, Horner, Cobo) and specialization (hills, mountains, tt, cobbles). In tennis, the four strongest guys win basically everything of value.

 

[memyselfandI]

Re: Re:

It's like some mediocre tennis player whose level is very consistent. He cannot beat Djokovic without all 10 planets of the solar system aligning for one glorious moment of extraordinary luck. He just lacks the weapons, the peaks in his game, that would enable him to do so. Take some slightly more erratic player who when he's on, he's ON. That guy can beat Djokovic. Richie is just below that guy, TeeJay is the mediocre tennis player and there are like 4 Djokovices at the Tour.

Froome Quintana Contador and ?

And Majka. The Next One.

+1 for Porte, all he needs is better mindset, like more relaxed. He must be positive underdog. Bit more playing w/ bike in offseason instead doing +300 km training rides. He's got the engine.

But Sky didn't enter this race w/ perfection attitude, too many markers on this. Team was not built for GC and for GC only and for still fragile Porte. And that's really really sad..

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Re: Re:

Fair point. 3 Djokovices and a Murray

Tennis is not a good comparison. Those guys are tall and athletic. Porte? Not so much

Djoko: 188cm
Roger: 185cm
Nadal: 185cm
Murray: 190cm
=====
Maria Sharapova 188cm
=====
Little dwarf: 155cm or something like that

lol. you know very little right?

athleticism has NOTHING to do with height and also in cycling it's much better to be small. not to mention porte is 1.72 and he is 60 kg. not small at all for a gt rider

 

[ILovecycling]

Re: Re:

Would be a good fit for BMC. He's obviously a vastly superior GC rider than anyone they have. The Giro disaster certainly made his next contract much worse than it would have been though.

Only if you don't count the fact that JT has better TdF results.

Remember when Richie was within a minute of the Dawg at Ax3?

* While doing trackstands and dropping back to Quintana to laugh at how slow he was climbing

* Then dropping like a stone in next stage and losing 20 minutes while other riders were doing trackstands whole last climb when riding along Andy Schleck in mythical form

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Re: Re:

Would be a good fit for BMC. He's obviously a vastly superior GC rider than anyone they have. The Giro disaster certainly made his next contract much worse than it would have been though.

Only if you don't count the fact that JT has better TdF results.

Remember when Richie was within a minute of the Dawg at Ax3?

* While doing trackstands and dropping back to Quintana to laugh at how slow he was climbing

* Then dropping like a stone in next stage and losing 20 minutes while other riders were doing trackstands whole last climb when riding along Andy Schleck in mythical form

you win


..........

 

[boringboy]

Is this the last chance Porte will get as leader with Sky?

 

[DBotero]

Re: Re:

Would be a good fit for BMC. He's obviously a vastly superior GC rider than anyone they have. The Giro disaster certainly made his next contract much worse than it would have been though.

Only if you don't count the fact that JT has better TdF results.

Remember when Richie was within a minute of the Dawg at Ax3?

* While doing trackstands and dropping back to Quintana to laugh at how slow he was climbing

* Then dropping like a stone in next stage and losing 20 minutes while other riders were doing trackstands whole last climb when riding along Andy Schleck in mythical form

Bad day,could happen to anybody He was back on business after that.

 

[wwabbit]

The question I think, is where should Richie Porte go from here, after the Tour?

Assuming he stays at Sky, I can't see Sky changing much. He will still be used to win the one-week stage races and support Froome at the 2016 Tour. Would Richie be allowed to try for the 2016 Giro again, or would it be time for Sky to try another GT contender?

If he moves, I can't see him moving to be a super-domestique for another leader, so I would assume the new team would be offering him GC leadership at the 2016 Tour. His performance at this Giro would probably make teams reconsider offering him this though.

So I'm guessing on the balance of probabilities, it's going to be status-quo for next year.

 

[DBotero]

Re:

The question I think, is where should Richie Porte go from here, after the Tour?

Assuming he stays at Sky, I can't see Sky changing much. He will still be used to win the one-week stage races and support Froome at the 2016 Tour. Would Richie be allowed to try for the 2016 Giro again, or would it be time for Sky to try another GT contender?

If he moves, I can't see him moving to be a super-domestique for another leader, so I would assume the new team would be offering him GC leadership at the 2016 Tour. His performance at this Giro would probably make teams reconsider offering him this though.

So I'm guessing on the balance of probabilities, it's going to be status-quo for next year.

Sky interest will be to keep him.He's still their best rider after Froome,but since their transfer policy is kinda dumb,who knows.If he leaves Orica/BMC would be some good choices.His performance at the Giro was very good until the incidents and the team is to blame more than him.He just run out of luck this Giro.

 

[sultanofhyd]

Re: Re:

The question I think, is where should Richie Porte go from here, after the Tour?

Assuming he stays at Sky, I can't see Sky changing much. He will still be used to win the one-week stage races and support Froome at the 2016 Tour. Would Richie be allowed to try for the 2016 Giro again, or would it be time for Sky to try another GT contender?

If he moves, I can't see him moving to be a super-domestique for another leader, so I would assume the new team would be offering him GC leadership at the 2016 Tour. His performance at this Giro would probably make teams reconsider offering him this though.

So I'm guessing on the balance of probabilities, it's going to be status-quo for next year.

Sky interest will be to keep him.He's still their best rider after Froome,

 

[DBotero]

Re: Re:

The question I think, is where should Richie Porte go from here, after the Tour?

Assuming he stays at Sky, I can't see Sky changing much. He will still be used to win the one-week stage races and support Froome at the 2016 Tour. Would Richie be allowed to try for the 2016 Giro again, or would it be time for Sky to try another GT contender?

If he moves, I can't see him moving to be a super-domestique for another leader, so I would assume the new team would be offering him GC leadership at the 2016 Tour. His performance at this Giro would probably make teams reconsider offering him this though.

So I'm guessing on the balance of probabilities, it's going to be status-quo for next year.

Sky interest will be to keep him.He's still their best rider after Froome,

Nah,he's not better than Porte.

 

[SeriousSam]

Re:

The question I think, is where should Richie Porte go from here, after the Tour?

Assuming he stays at Sky, I can't see Sky changing much. He will still be used to win the one-week stage races and support Froome at the 2016 Tour. Would Richie be allowed to try for the 2016 Giro again, or would it be time for Sky to try another GT contender?

If he moves, I can't see him moving to be a super-domestique for another leader, so I would assume the new team would be offering him GC leadership at the 2016 Tour. His performance at this Giro would probably make teams reconsider offering him this though.

So I'm guessing on the balance of probabilities, it's going to be status-quo for next year.

I think his Giro performance has decreased his bargaining power and hence the wages he can expect for his next contract, but not necessarily how teams will assess his potential to challenge for GT victoies. They will not have failed to noticed that Porte has the strength not to be immediately dropped whenever Bert has a little dig and that he was hampered by an inept team more than anything.

For guys like König or TJ to win a GT, hell needs to freeze over and a monkey needs to type Shakespeare. For Porte to win one, you don't need hell to freeze over, a little rain will suffice, and a monkey only needs to type martinvickers clinic posts as opposed to Hamlet. An unlikely prospect to be sure, but not unthinkable.

 

[Velolover2]

Re: Re:

The question I think, is where should Richie Porte go from here, after the Tour?

Assuming he stays at Sky, I can't see Sky changing much. He will still be used to win the one-week stage races and support Froome at the 2016 Tour. Would Richie be allowed to try for the 2016 Giro again, or would it be time for Sky to try another GT contender?

If he moves, I can't see him moving to be a super-domestique for another leader, so I would assume the new team would be offering him GC leadership at the 2016 Tour. His performance at this Giro would probably make teams reconsider offering him this though.

So I'm guessing on the balance of probabilities, it's going to be status-quo for next year.

I think his Giro performance has decreased his bargaining power and hence the wages he can expect for his next contract, but not necessarily how teams will assess his potential to challenge for GT victoies. They will not have failed to noticed that Porte has the strength not to be immediately dropped whenever Bert has a little dig and that he was hampered by an inept team more than anything.

For guys like König or TJ to win a GT, hell needs to freeze over and a monkey needs to type Shakespeare. For Porte to win one, you don't need hell to freeze over, a little rain will suffice, and a monkey only needs to type martinvickers clinic posts as opposed to Hamlet. An unlikely prospect to be sure, but not unthinkable.

Well, there is often snow drifts and avalanches in the Vuelta (Cobo, Horner) and sometimes a homo erectus manage to write a poem in the Giro (Hejsedal).

You are correct about the Tour though.

 

[Tommy79]

Re: Re:

The question I think, is where should Richie Porte go from here, after the Tour?

Assuming he stays at Sky, I can't see Sky changing much. He will still be used to win the one-week stage races and support Froome at the 2016 Tour. Would Richie be allowed to try for the 2016 Giro again, or would it be time for Sky to try another GT contender?

If he moves, I can't see him moving to be a super-domestique for another leader, so I would assume the new team would be offering him GC leadership at the 2016 Tour. His performance at this Giro would probably make teams reconsider offering him this though.

So I'm guessing on the balance of probabilities, it's going to be status-quo for next year.

I think his Giro performance has decreased his bargaining power and hence the wages he can expect for his next contract, but not necessarily how teams will assess his potential to challenge for GT victoies. They will not have failed to noticed that Porte has the strength not to be immediately dropped whenever Bert has a little dig and that he was hampered by an inept team more than anything.

For guys like König or TJ to win a GT, hell needs to freeze over and a monkey needs to type Shakespeare. For Porte to win one, you don't need hell to freeze over, a little rain will suffice, and a monkey only needs to type martinvickers clinic posts as opposed to Hamlet. An unlikely prospect to be sure, but not unthinkable.

Well, there is often snow drifts and avalanches in the Vuelta (Cobo, Horner) and sometimes a homo erectus manage to write a poem in the Giro (Hejsedal).

You are correct about the Tour though.

Yeah, I can see more of the same next year for Porte. He brings a lot to Sky with stage races he wins, his support for Froome in the tour and being Froome's mate/keeping him happy.

And I would still say that if you were making a shortlist of guys who could win a grand tour and who haven't already won one, Porte would be on it.

 

[Jancouver]

Re: Re:

Fair point. 3 Djokovices and a Murray

Tennis is not a good comparison. Those guys are tall and athletic. Porte? Not so much

Djoko: 188cm
Roger: 185cm
Nadal: 185cm
Murray: 190cm
=====
Maria Sharapova 188cm
=====
Little dwarf: 155cm or something like that

lol. you know very little right?

athleticism has NOTHING to do with height and also in cycling it's much better to be small. not to mention porte is 1.72 and he is 60 kg. not small at all for a gt rider

Haha, you dont get it once again.

I have stated that tennis players are tall AND athletic. Porte is neither tall or athletic.

And here is a definition of Athleticism:

Athleticism is the quality of having the kind of strength and energy that makes a great athlete.

See the part the kind of strength?

We all know Porte is missing many of the strengths that make a great athlete.

 

[blackmamba]

People a little reality check, Porte is 30 and only ONCE have finished top 10 in a grand tour and that was only cause he went in a break away and got much time. I mean im a fan of beeing positive and looking for possibilities but Porte has and will never do a good grand tour its amazing people havent figured that out by now (surelely skys learned now and it wont happen again) its not in him to sustain 3 weeks of high lvl racing. No bashing, just sometimes people need to put a finger in the ground and realise facts and move on. Focus on the 1 weeks races and beeing a good domestique in the grand tours!

 

[vedrafjord]

In the last ten years, all these people have won GTs:

Ryder Hesjedal
Óscar Pereiro
Bradley Wiggins
Chris Horner
Juan José Cobo

so I don't think you can completely rule him out. Stamina and 3 week recovery ability is something that seems to increase with age these days, so I don't think 30 is old man territory at all.

I'm not a Sky fan, I'm not a Porte fan, I think he's mentally suspect, and and obviously Sky have other GC guys right now. I think people are ignoring that in between relatively predictable periods like right now, where you have clearly very strong guys like Contador and Nibali (and Quintana and Froome too) mopping up wins, you get times when it's wide open and comparative nobodies can win GTs. Out of the comparative nobodies, he still wouldn't be my number 1 pick, but I'd never rule him out.

 

[SeriousSam]

As I said before, Porte needs to have been seriously compromised by injury in his time trial and the MTF before he abandoned. If that was down to his mental game, he'll need Steve Peters to ever have a reasonable chance of winning a GT:

I think physically, he's strong enough.

 

[blackmamba]

'' think physically, he's strong enough'' not again the likes of froome, quintana, nibali and ofcourse the greatest cyclist of our generation Contador. But i seriously find it funny that even to this day ppl still think/speculate he can do 3 weeks when he has proven his entire career that he cant. Competing in paris-nice, tirreno etc compared to sustaining your form for a 3 week race is like comparing apple to oranges its totally different sure hes a strong 1 week guy indeed but as a captain for a GT you wont see that again if so only to flop again. Hey im not a porte hater not at all I just think its time to realize that bygones are bygones and facts are facts, the guy havent EVER showed he can sustain his form and everything else that goes into it in a GT in fact he has shown the direct opposite everytime single time, show me the guy who will put his money on porte in a GT and I will be surprised!! He is a brilliant 1 week racer and one of the best domestique out there thats nothing to be ashamed of really. Anyway thats just my 2 cents on the matter!

 

[staubsauger]

Re:

In the last ten years, all these people have won GTs:

Ryder Hesjedal
Óscar Pereiro
Bradley Wiggins
Chris Horner
Juan José Cobo

so I don't think you can completely rule him out. Stamina and 3 week recovery ability is something that seems to increase with age these days, so I don't think 30 is old man territory at all.

I'm not a Sky fan, I'm not a Porte fan, I think he's mentally suspect, and and obviously Sky have other GC guys right now. I think people are ignoring that in between relatively predictable periods like right now, where you have clearly very strong guys like Contador and Nibali (and Quintana and Froome too) mopping up wins, you get times when it's wide open and comparative nobodies can win GTs. Out of the comparative nobodies, he still wouldn't be my number 1 pick, but I'd never rule him out.

All these guys are way better riders than Porte has ever been.

He's a loser. Without that 15 minutes breakaway he would not even have one grand tour top 10!

All this talk about him as a gt contender is ridicolous. Even Fuglsang has a better record as a gt rider. Porte has just finally made himself a laughable goof this Giro!

He's a donkey. Nothing more.

May have chances to win another 1 week race, tough. Thanks to Sky's "training" mainly.

 

[Ruudz0r]

I think its way to soon to write him off. We can't see how injured he was or how much pain he had/has in his knee hip. It could be a mental thing especially with what happened with the wheel change and puncture but he could also just be injured. For me he also only had 1 bad day in the GTs (TdF 2013 stage 9), as last year he was sick (proven).
He started cycling late and turned pro late so even though he is already 30 he hadn't had much oppertunities to shine yet in GTs. I think Porte will at least podium a GT in his career, and he has a good chance in winning one.

 

[blackmamba]

Re:

I think its way to soon to write him off. We can't see how injured he was or how much pain he had/has in his knee hip. It could be a mental thing especially with what happened with the wheel change and puncture but he could also just be injured. For me he also only had 1 bad day in the GTs (TdF 2013 stage 9), as last year he was sick (proven).
He started cycling late and turned pro late so even though he is already 30 he hadn't had much oppertunities to shine yet in GTs. I think Porte will at least podium a GT in his career, and he has a good chance in winning one.

Way to soon? What exactly has he showed you in GT's ? That he can be strong in 1 week races is not something you should use when the guy has never showned he can sustain his form for 3 weeks theres plenty of strong 1 week racers who is irrelevant in GT's cause its two entire different things and when the guy has never ever in his career showed his capable of doing it (in fact the opposite really) im just curious of what logic sense makes you think he can

 

[SeriousSam]

It seems like there are two schools of thought when it comes to assessing a rider's GT potential. You guys focus a lot on results in GTs placing, ignoring how they came about or didn't come about. Others, like myself, look for signs that a rider is capable of time trialling and climbing at a high enough level. Those are the two crucial things you need to be a GC rider. The rest is a question of having a good enough team, luck, fortitude and recovery. Porte may or may not be lacking in fortitude and recovery. The jury is still out on that one. As for his climbing and especially time trialling, he's shown a higher ceiling than Aru has at this point.

If Contador weren't in the Giro and if Porte hadn't punctured and crashed (alternatively, if Sky had handled those situations incorrectly) I believe he would have won the Giro. This also assumes that Landa would have been leashed long enough, of course.

 

[HelloDolly]

I must say I am disappointed in Richie Porte...not because he didn;t win the Giro or because he was unfortunate with penalties and crashes....I am disappointed because being a very good riders both TTer & climber he has not shown the mental resilience one needs to do well in Grand Tours

There is Uran & Hesejdal hanging in there and battling away whatever their position and he goes home...and I don't buy that he is that injured say in comparison to Uran or other riders in the peloton....How many riders do we know whp have battled on with injuries and problems and you admire their tenacity

He should have stayed on and just fought each stage for his team and even for himself ...he could have won some stages...or even got timeback on GC and finished in top 10 ...But most importantly he could have learned that winning isn't everything ....fighting is