Richie Porte Discussion Thread.

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In which year will Porte win the GT Treble?

  • He will only manage the double

    Votes: 9 100.0%

  • Total voters
    9
Jul 19, 2010
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DBotero said:
Little Richie looked good today,i'm curious if he'll try anything tomorrow.

I think he might. He said in this interview: tomorrow is going to be a major shuffle of GC.(maybe he meant his team will do someting. Or it doesn't mean anything :D ). Judging from what have happend up to now, TS has worked on Monday, and cooked today. (no one around to finish with Contador except Roman). Astana today, turned the screw so hard that the peloton was decimated, shaving 10 minutes gap to 22 seconds. Impressive. Tomorrow, I think Sky turns to turn the screw. Besides the last climb seems to suit the train hard tempo riding. Another demolition derby anyone? :D
 
I thought Porte and Aru looked better than Contador but Contador looked like that all the way through the 2012 Vuelta and still won it. One more bad day and Uran is almost out of GC contention unless his climbing improves and he rides the TT of his life and his TT has definitely improved. That said, it was a bit of a crazy stage and the sort of stage where some of the GC favourites can get caught out.
 
Porte closed the gap to Contador rather easy but then didn't try anything.Maybe he was a bit scared by Contador,who looked very strong.But i expect him to step up and attack on the next suitable stages,he can't just defend if he really wants to win Il Giro.
 
Re:

sir fly said:
Porte might have problems on steeper ascents.
He surely won't be able to respond quickly as he was today, and it may be difficult to pace himself back.
The itt will be enormously important.

Porte better time the GC leadership right. If he somehow managed to get the jersey today, his team would have exploded over the weekend for sure.
 
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Dazed and Confused said:
sir fly said:
Porte might have problems on steeper ascents.
He surely won't be able to respond quickly as he was today, and it may be difficult to pace himself back.
The itt will be enormously important.

Porte better time the GC leadership right. If he somehow managed to get the jersey today, his team would have exploded over the weekend for sure.
Yes, the team's surprisingly subpar.
 
Nov 29, 2010
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Konig seems strong enough but he doesn't seem to ride with Richie on the climbs, he rides a bit behind him. Dunno if that's the idea or if he's more interested in his own GC possibilities.
 
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HelloDolly said:
SKY might be knackered after such an all out start to the season

Kiryienka come in the bus with Eisel,Puccio and Viviani,maybe he's part of Viviani train so he's in the right place :confused: Nieve had that mechanical,come in with Henao.Siutsou and Konig were with Richie cause i saw 3 Sky riders on the climb,Konig come in with the chasers at 22 sec.They weren't really needed on this climb,the only one of which i'm worried is Vasil.
 
Jul 19, 2010
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Re:

sir fly said:
Porte might have problems on steeper ascents.
He surely won't be able to respond quickly as he was today, and it may be difficult to pace himself back.
The itt will be enormously important.

i thought people said the climb today suits Porte down to the ground. But today, he didn't do anything at all. even the sky team is MIA. Maybe they are saving energy for Saturday? Kreuziger is sitting pretty at 4th GC. if he can keep his powder dry, he'll be a headache for Aru and Porte later on.
 
Mar 14, 2009
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Its just a first week and we all know that everyone is strong the first week so no surprise my favorite dwarf is still competitive. Give it another week or so and we may see if the private RV with all the latest bells and whistles or rather "tech" and "nutrition" will keep Ritchie on contention for the podium.
 
It certainly hasn't been a normal start for Sky in terms of how they usually race, but they still had guys (Suitsou and Konig?) there when It matters today plus with Astana and Saxo willing to do so much work why not hitch a free ride. With so many key stages still to come it makes sense to leave something in reserve.
 
Re:

sir fly said:
Porte might have problems on steeper ascents.
He surely won't be able to respond quickly as he was today, and it may be difficult to pace himself back.
The itt will be enormously important.

Well having watched his post stage interview today he seemed very relaxed - not fatigued at all. But problems with steeper ascents? AX3 2013 TDF was a steeper ascent and I seem to recall Porte did a bit of damage then. He also rode very strongly on the Alpe in 2013 and had to wait for Captain Froome. That's two 8% MTFs, no dramas!

I suspect 59Kg Richie is in better form now - plus at 30 he should be naturally stronger than 2013 anyhow. Many more questions need to be asked of Porte though but it looks quite encouraging for his so far this Giro as long as he holds it together.
 
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Cookster15 said:
sir fly said:
Porte might have problems on steeper ascents.
He surely won't be able to respond quickly as he was today, and it may be difficult to pace himself back.
The itt will be enormously important.

Well having watched his post stage interview today he seemed very relaxed - not fatigued at all. But problems with steeper ascents? AX3 2013 TDF was a steeper ascent and I seem to recall Porte did a bit of damage then. He also rode very strongly on the Alpe in 2013 and had to wait for Captain Froome. That's two 8% MTFs, no dramas!

I suspect 59Kg Richie is in better form now - plus at 30 he should be naturally stronger than 2013 anyhow. Many more questions need to be asked of Porte though but it looks quite encouraging for his so far this Giro as long as he holds it together.
You're right, he's had some strong performances on steeper inclines. My concern is that repeated efforts, whether due to the profile itself or rivals' actions - it doesn't really matter, might be too much for him.
I hope I'm wrong, 'cause this Giro is shaping up into a legend.
 

rm7

Mar 14, 2015
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I haven't seen how Porte reacts to numerous accelerations. He usually only ride as super dom, or do one big attack in one week races and drops everybody. It'll be interesting to see how he do in the big mountain stages 2 days in a row.
 
It makes sense for Porte to ride conservatively both from a financial point of view and also in light of his problems with recovery. A place on a grand tour podium would probably add about 500,000 euros to his market value.
 
I think Porte is riding a very sensible race. He knows that going the distance with the best riders has been hard for him in the past. Sky have looked out of sorts unless they are waiting for the big mountain stages but so far Astana have looked by far the strongest on the climbs. I'm not confident that Kreuziger will be around the top of GC for long and even Contador's team is not looking that good. Aru is the one that has to make some time in the mountains as the TT will suit him the least of the top 4 riders.
 
Re: Re:

Jelantik said:
sir fly said:
Porte might have problems on steeper ascents.
He surely won't be able to respond quickly as he was today, and it may be difficult to pace himself back.
The itt will be enormously important.

i thought people said the climb today suits Porte down to the ground. But today, he didn't do anything at all. even the sky team is MIA. Maybe they are saving energy for Saturday? Kreuziger is sitting pretty at 4th GC. if he can keep his powder dry, he'll be a headache for Aru and Porte later on.

That is if TCS don't ride try reel him back to the peleton :)