Richie Porte Discussion Thread.

[Gaylord Figman]

Richie Porte is just yet another Sky rider who should have kept his mouth shut
He will never win a Tour as he is just not good enough and the Sky team has no strength in depth to support him anyway
Wiggo was going to win the Giro a few years back and left humiliated!
Stick insect Froome will not win the Tour this summer for the same reasons
Sky have had their glory days and will have to settle for that
Brailsford should have stuck to track racing as he knows sod all about managing a road team

 

[Jancouver]

Re:

No one who really thought they could challenge for the win would have a program like Porte had before the Giro. He would have faded badly in the third week without any crashes as well.

Have to agree with Netserk. I always thought that it was obvious that Porte will flop but for some reason most people around here did not share the opinion and I took a lot of heat for bashing Porte.

Especially when I posted the info on Porte's super low body fat levels.

I truly thought that just that info alone, having the lowest body fat ever measured among the SKY riders was THE most important info that came out before the Giro regarding his fitness and health.

It does not take a genius to figure out that extremely low body fat in combination with physical, emotional, and mental stress is not the best combination for a Grand Tour contender as your body cant sustain that combination for very long and we all know that LRP was in "form" since the TDU in January.

Enough said about Porte, now I have to figure out what Avatar I should choose for the avatar bet I won in this thread for Porte not finishing on the podium.

Any suggestions?

 

[Pippo_San]

In retrospective the entire affair is laughable at best. All motorhome & marginal gains *** and then:
1- Richie punctures and no one's ready to get his wheel changed and no one even cares about the rules
2- Sky even post on Twitter how they went against the rules. Except then they cry for it.
3- Richie crashes. Everyone in the team look at each other for minutes before making the best decision ever: "let's put the dwarf on the bike of a giant!"
4- when it's clear his mind isn't there anymore they make Richie look like a buffoon in a couple of stages before making him retire with the classic lie.

So much for marginal gains.

 

[The_Cheech]

Porte's problem is that he peaked too early and went into the Giro only with a plan A. No damage limitation or plan B whatsoever. Puzzling.

Brailsford probably had him 2+ minutes ahead before the second rest day and be able to just cruise to victory.

Astana/Aru and punctures got in the way.

 

[The_Cheech]

Re:

In retrospective the entire affair is laughable at best. All motorhome & marginal gains *** and then:
1- Richie punctures and no one's ready to get his wheel changed and no one even cares about the rules
2- Sky even post on Twitter how they went against the rules. Except then they cry for it.
3- Richie crashes. Everyone in the team look at each other for minutes before making the best decision ever: "let's put the dwarf on the bike of a giant!"
4- when it's clear his mind isn't there anymore they make Richie look like a buffoon in a couple of stages before making him retire with the classic lie.

So much for marginal gains.

You guys are brutal on Ritchie.

He is a guy that genuinely felt he had what it took to win a GT. He found out the hard way he doesn't.

There's really nothing wrong with that.

It's the giving up part that I'm confused about. Brailsford ought to be honest with him and demand that he aim, AT THE VERY LEAST, for a stage win and help the others.

He's acting like a rat in a sinking ship.

 

[vedrafjord]

I'm not a Porte fan but some of the gloating comments here are a bit much. I don't like to see people falling out of contention due to punctures and crashes and I think the third week will be less interesting than it could have been if he was still climbing with the best, especially considering that Astana, like Movistar in the 2013 TdF, don't seem to know what to do with their superior numbers. You can say he's selfish for withdrawing but it's unlikely Sky were going to let him soldier on considering he has a job to do for Froome in July.

 

[The_Cheech]

Re:

I'm not a Porte fan but some of the gloating comments here are a bit much. I don't like to see people falling out of contention due to punctures and crashes and I think the third week will be less interesting than it could have been if he was still climbing with the best, especially considering that Astana, like Movistar in the 2013 TdF, don't seem to know what to do with their superior numbers. You can say he's selfish for withdrawing but it's unlikely Sky were going to let him soldier on considering he has a job to do for Froome in July.

What many fail to realize is that when you enter a competition with Contador in it, it isn't so much about your form, it's about Alberto's form. If he shows up in good form, there isn't much you can do.

 

[Jancouver]

Re: Re:

I'm not a Porte fan but some of the gloating comments here are a bit much. I don't like to see people falling out of contention due to punctures and crashes and I think the third week will be less interesting than it could have been if he was still climbing with the best, especially considering that Astana, like Movistar in the 2013 TdF, don't seem to know what to do with their superior numbers. You can say he's selfish for withdrawing but it's unlikely Sky were going to let him soldier on considering he has a job to do for Froome in July.

What many fail to realize is that when you enter a competition with Contador in it, it isn't so much about your form, it's about Alberto's form. If he shows up in good form, there isn't much you can do.

So Contador's form (and his shoulder injury) is the reason why LRP mentally melted after one punctured wheel?

Common, gimme a break!

 

[The_Cheech]

Re: Re:

I'm not a Porte fan but some of the gloating comments here are a bit much. I don't like to see people falling out of contention due to punctures and crashes and I think the third week will be less interesting than it could have been if he was still climbing with the best, especially considering that Astana, like Movistar in the 2013 TdF, don't seem to know what to do with their superior numbers. You can say he's selfish for withdrawing but it's unlikely Sky were going to let him soldier on considering he has a job to do for Froome in July.

What many fail to realize is that when you enter a competition with Contador in it, it isn't so much about your form, it's about Alberto's form. If he shows up in good form, there isn't much you can do.

So Contador's form (and his shoulder injury) is the reason why LRP mentally melted after one punctured wheel?

Common, gimme a break!

No, Mother Nature whooped his a$$. That's the main reason.

What I'm saying is that Alberto's form is a hurdle many can't get over, mentally that is. Pseudo-leaders give up.

A real leader always finds a way around issues, or at least tries. And does not abandon his team even in the face of adversity.

 

[Irondan]

Re: Re:

Richie says

"I'm gutted it’s ended this way and that I can’t stay and support Leo, Elia and the team in the last week."

tinge of hypocrisy here?
Hope he leaves Leo K the motorhome - or perhaps it's cursed somehow.

why can't he stay and support them?

this gives me more respect for Froome, at least he soldiers on and helps others if he isn't alien himself, but Porte is just a douchebag who quits at the first sign of trouble.

hopefully this relegates him to permanent domestique status.

I'm not a LRP fan and personally, I don't see how anyone can get to the level of hate that you are at. This guy is a bike racer, not a politician. Enough already..

 

[The_Cheech]

Re: Re:

Richie says

"I'm gutted it’s ended this way and that I can’t stay and support Leo, Elia and the team in the last week."

tinge of hypocrisy here?
Hope he leaves Leo K the motorhome - or perhaps it's cursed somehow.

why can't he stay and support them?

this gives me more respect for Froome, at least he soldiers on and helps others if he isn't alien himself, but Porte is just a douchebag who quits at the first sign of trouble.

hopefully this relegates him to permanent domestique status.

I'm not a LRP fan and personally, I don't see how anyone can get to the level of hate that you are at. This guy is a bike racer, not a politician. Enough already..

Very true.

Cyclists are human beings. What they ought to do is to sit him down, have a talk with him, and have him take a more passive role. Possibly having him aim the 1-week competitions as the team lead.

But GTs are a week an a half too long for him. Or so it seems.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Did Richie also abandon his camper van?

As far as Richie genuinely thinking he had what it takes to win a GT, what happened when he was Plan B at the Tour last year? He was all about taking the reins of leadership. He finished almost an hour back.

 

[SlickMongoose]

But he got injured. Does everyone here just think he's lying about that?

 

[hrotha]

Re:

But he got injured. Does everyone here just think he's lying about that?

Why would a pro cyclist lie?!?

 

[Pippo_San]

Re: Re:

In retrospective the entire affair is laughable at best. All motorhome & marginal gains *** and then:
1- Richie punctures and no one's ready to get his wheel changed and no one even cares about the rules
2- Sky even post on Twitter how they went against the rules. Except then they cry for it.
3- Richie crashes. Everyone in the team look at each other for minutes before making the best decision ever: "let's put the dwarf on the bike of a giant!"
4- when it's clear his mind isn't there anymore they make Richie look like a buffoon in a couple of stages before making him retire with the classic lie.

So much for marginal gains.

You guys are brutal on Ritchie.

He is a guy that genuinely felt he had what it took to win a GT. He found out the hard way he doesn't.

There's really nothing wrong with that.

It's the giving up part that I'm confused about. Brailsford ought to be honest with him and demand that he aim, AT THE VERY LEAST, for a stage win and help the others.

He's acting like a rat in a sinking ship.

I wasn't being brutal on Richie. All the opposite. At least he tried, he failed, he'll be back to domestique roles, that's fine.
The laughable thing is the management of the rider, Brailsford in primis.
Because ok, Richie lost his mind, and he has been undoubtly frail mentally speaking, but those DS at Sky should all be fired...the management has been at best amateurish in a lot of occasions.
And again ok, maybe Richie would've lost tons of time on his own. But really someone at Sky should be reciting the mea culpa.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Re:

But he got injured. Does everyone here just think he's lying about that?

The only thing Porte injured was his pride. If he were injured, he wouldn't have even started the TT or yesterday. The guy just cracked mentally, and he's trying to sell the Sky fans some bs.

Sky apparently think everyone is as stupid as their fans.

 

[The Hitch]

Re:

No one who really thought they could challenge for the win would have a program like Porte had before the Giro. He would have faded badly in the third week without any crashes as well.

TBF Wiggins 2012 and Froome 2013 managed to go through the whole gt without getting tired, despite having programmes that should have left them dead.

 

[dolophonic]

What could be really interesting is if he shows at the tour and goes well.. gives Froomie a tuff time for the leadership and we get to watch the Sky novella pt 2 !

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

What could be really interesting is if he shows at the tour and goes well.. gives Froomie a tuff time for the leadership and we get to watch the Sky novella pt 2 !

Porte had his golden chance at the Tour last year: no Contador, no Froome, no Quintana.

He finished about one hour back.

 

[TheGreenMonkey]

Re: Re:

Richie says

"I'm gutted it’s ended this way and that I can’t stay and support Leo, Elia and the team in the last week."

tinge of hypocrisy here?
Hope he leaves Leo K the motorhome - or perhaps it's cursed somehow.

why can't he stay and support them?

this gives me more respect for Froome, at least he soldiers on and helps others if he isn't alien himself, but Porte is just a douchebag who quits at the first sign of trouble.

hopefully this relegates him to permanent domestique status.

He did not quit on the first sign of trouble, he kept riding after the just penalty, he did not quit in disgust. He then crashed through no fault of his own and rode two stages injured. I am not sure how bad his injuries really are but they were hampering him to some extent. Riders have certainly rode on with injury before, his Australian example could be Cadel Evans at the 2010 tour, but really is it the best thing to do?

 

[jmdirt]

Based on RP's record so far, GTs are too much for him as a team leader. He is a great support rider for GTs, and can win most one week stage races which can make a great career for him. RP, rest up, win du Dauphine, and pull CF around France in July.

 

[TheGreenMonkey]

Re: Re:

In retrospective the entire affair is laughable at best. All motorhome & marginal gains *** and then:
1- Richie punctures and no one's ready to get his wheel changed and no one even cares about the rules
2- Sky even post on Twitter how they went against the rules. Except then they cry for it.
3- Richie crashes. Everyone in the team look at each other for minutes before making the best decision ever: "let's put the dwarf on the bike of a giant!"
4- when it's clear his mind isn't there anymore they make Richie look like a buffoon in a couple of stages before making him retire with the classic lie.

So much for marginal gains.

You guys are brutal on Ritchie.

He is a guy that genuinely felt he had what it took to win a GT. He found out the hard way he doesn't.

There's really nothing wrong with that.

It's the giving up part that I'm confused about. Brailsford ought to be honest with him and demand that he aim, AT THE VERY LEAST, for a stage win and help the others.

He's acting like a rat in a sinking ship.

You are to being brutal as well.
His Giro has been a failure for two reasons.
He had a puncture at nearly the end of the stage and made the mistake of taking a wheel from a mate from a different team for which he was rightly punished.
He was then taken out in a crash that was not his fault and was injured.
All his time loses came because of these two incidents.
He never was exposed due to not being able to match the best with climbing, he didn't even really make the proper mountains to be able to test himself, but he was fine on the climbing he completed. He seened no weaker than Aru, although Aru was certainly more attacking. So this is still an unanswered question
He never had the chance to prove he could last three weeks because he was taken out by a crash, so this is still an unanswered question.

So to me Porte still has the same amount of uncertainty about whether he could do a good GT GC and podium if things go well, they certainly did not this time, partly his fault but mostly not his fault. I am not even a Porte or Sky fan, I really don't care how good he is or isn't, but this Giro proved nothing.

Age and the strength of the team he is at are against him, but if he gets another leadership chance I would not rule out an excellent performance where he challenges for the podium at least.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Compare this Porte muppet with Hamilton, who ground his teeth down after breaking his arm just so he could stay in the Giro.
Or racing with a broken collarbone at the 2003 Tour.

 

[TheGreenMonkey]

Re: Re:

But he got injured. Does everyone here just think he's lying about that?

Why would a pro cyclist lie?!?

The reason why I don't think he is lying about being injured to some extent is that he was overheard immediately after the stage when he crashed telling a sky staff member he would not warm down because his knee was "***". It was not something that came out a few hours later. None of us can possibly know the extent of the injury, like we cannot possibly know the extent of Contador's injury to his shoulder, and both might have been exaggerated for differing reasons, but that is no doubt he was injured to some extent.

 

[Angliru]

Re: Re:

I'm not a Porte fan but some of the gloating comments here are a bit much. I don't like to see people falling out of contention due to punctures and crashes and I think the third week will be less interesting than it could have been if he was still climbing with the best, especially considering that Astana, like Movistar in the 2013 TdF, don't seem to know what to do with their superior numbers. You can say he's selfish for withdrawing but it's unlikely Sky were going to let him soldier on considering he has a job to do for Froome in July.

What many fail to realize is that when you enter a competition with Contador in it, it isn't so much about your form, it's about Alberto's form. If he shows up in good form, there isn't much you can do.

So Contador's form (and his shoulder injury) is the reason why LRP mentally melted after one punctured wheel?

Common, gimme a break!

No, Mother Nature whooped his a$$. That's the main reason.

What I'm saying is that Alberto's form is a hurdle many can't get over, mentally that is. Pseudo-leaders give up.

A real leader always finds a way around issues, or at least tries. And does not abandon his team even in the face of adversity.

What level of support can he offer if he's struggling to finish 27 minutes behind the rider's he previously competing with? If your team doctor advises that you pull out, and there is essentially nothing to be gained by continuing, why would he stay?