Richie Porte Discussion Thread.

[F_Cance]

it's still bad. Look at stage 9. He made it over the climb in the first group and then lost contact and 11 seconds. It's also the reason why Mads Pedersen desperately tried to survive Madeleine yesterday. Porte said that he trusts him and descends better in his wheel.
So i expect him to lose more time day.

 

[Red Rick]

it's still bad. Look at stage 9. He made it over the climb in the first group and then lost contact and 11 seconds. It's also the reason why Mads Pedersen desperately tried to survive Madeleine yesterday. Porte said that he trusts him and descends better in his wheel.
So i expect him to lose more time day.

"Sure Richie I'll snap my fingers and become a solid climber just for you"

 

[movingtarget]

Does anyone know if Richie has worked on his descending? Knowing his fate on Mont du Chat in 2017 Tour I wondering if going downhill might be a concern on this stage?

Mont Chat is an extreme descent. Nothing like today's stage.

 

[movingtarget]

Well he had bad luck then good luck with other riders willing to ride with him after the puncture. Don't think that chase will take too much out of him before the TT. It was towards the end of the stage. Still energy he would have preferred to conserve. Yates and Uran faded badly. Surprised that Lopez didn't try something with Landa but Jumbo seemed to have things under control.

 

[roundabout]

shame that he may fall just short of the podium again. and again because of a time loss in a non-GC stage

 

[Forever The Best]

Unlike 2016, he has some fault this time though. Because he wasn't good enough at echelons, whilst in 2016 it was pure bad luck with the mechanical.

 

[movingtarget]

shame that he may fall just short of the podium again. and again because of a time loss in a non-GC stage

No doubt the team were sleeping on that stage. Porte also said that two roundabouts caused a split and the front group was off when the crosswinds hit. That was a bad day for the team but since then they have done really well.

 

[yaco]

Porte is a very good at the ITT when in top form - He could get close to Lopez.

 

[Red Rick]

I had this strange tingling sensation earlier today which I was quite sure I'd never felt before.

I was wondering what it was. Whether I was having a déjà vu , or a eureka moment, or perhaps I was even falling in love.

But no, it was even more mysterious than that. As he was struggling with his bicycle on a dirt road atop a mountain in France, I found myself rooting for Richie Porte.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Fantastic ride from Porte. Led all the way down the descent and did 80% of the work on the false flat to bridge across after that puncture. Will be a greatly deserved podium if he gets it, though I think Lopez has a 75% chance to hold him off.

 

[movingtarget]

Porte is a very good at the ITT when in top form - He could get close to Lopez.

I think he needs Lopez to have an off day and he has to do a great TT. Quite a lot of flat before the climb. Lopez can sometimes surprise in the TT in both ways ! Be more confident if the gap was one minute.

 

[TomLPC]

Not today, bike

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Its been quite the way to sign off as a Tour GC rider

 

[VayaVayaVaya]

Really happy for Richie riding back, showing grit, and overcoming the Richie curse to make it back. I'm cheering for him to get on the podium

 

[Cookster15]

Fantastic ride from Porte. Led all the way down the descent and did 80% of the work on the false flat to bridge across after that puncture. Will be a greatly deserved podium if he gets it, though I think Lopez has a 75% chance to hold him off.

I don’t think Richie of old could have managed this. More likely throw in the towel. Yes great ride today and it speaks volumes of his state of mind. That state of mind should maximise his performance in the TT.

 

[Scarponi]

I had this strange tingling sensation earlier today which I was quite sure I'd never felt before.

I was wondering what it was. Whether I was having a déjà vu , or a eureka moment, or perhaps I was even falling in love.

But no, it was even more mysterious than that. As he was struggling with his bicycle on a dirt road atop a mountain in France, I found myself rooting for Richie Porte.

No man should undergo the continuous bad luck Porte goes through every year. It’s behind an under dog story now

 

[Cookster15]

Porte is a very good at the ITT when in top form - He could get close to Lopez.

Yes. Care to reassess your earlier predictions on him not being capable of top 5 on GC?

 

[SHAD0W93]

Yes. Care to reassess your earlier predictions on him not being capable of top 5 on GC?

Race still isn't over but he has overcome a lot. Has to hold hold off for 3 more stages.

 

[yaco]

Yes. Care to reassess your earlier predictions on him not being capable of top 5 on GC?

I am happy with my assessment of Porte pre-tour - He hadn't shown the form to suggest he would finish top 5 or even top 10 - And of course I was factoring in how Trek would use Mollema and Porte ( who are similar GC riders ) during the tour.

 

[Cookster15]

I am happy with my assessment of Porte pre-tour - He hadn't shown the form to suggest he would finish top 5 or even top 10 - And of course I was factoring in how Trek would use Mollema and Porte ( who are similar GC riders ) during the tour.

True. But nobody showed the form because everyone was in lockdown until very recently.

You judge ability based upon past performances and other factors like age. But Porte has actually surprised me how well he is riding (even today how he recovered from a puncture which might have brought him undone in the past). But I did think he was still capable of top 5 on GC looking at who was riding if he performed at peak and he has proven me right so far.

Three more stages

 

[Cookster15]

it's still bad. Look at stage 9. He made it over the climb in the first group and then lost contact and 11 seconds. It's also the reason why Mads Pedersen desperately tried to survive Madeleine yesterday. Porte said that he trusts him and descends better in his wheel.
So i expect him to lose more time day.

He descended well today even after the puncture.

 

[lenric]

Happy for Porte and I honestly hope he can get the podium on the ITT, he deserves it as a career prize. Such an unlucky rider. There's nothing sadder as unfulfilled potential.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Happy for Porte and I honestly hope he can get the podium on the ITT, he deserves it as a career prize. Such an unlucky rider. There's nothing sadder as unfulfilled potential.

I honestly feel Porte has more than fulfilled his potential. He just kept banging his head against the GT wall and while he did get his fair share of bad luck, luck is an element in cycling. Some of the 'bad luck' was his own errors, like not knowing the rule on the wheel swap in the Giro or the Mont du Chat crash. But frequently Porte would completely capitulate when he had some bad fortune (I don't count the Mont du Chat crash in that, that was nasty and DNFing as a result was hardly surprising given the impact) but I think he felt pressured because of his record in one week races and because of being seen as a de facto successor to Evans to keep trying to be a GT rider, and it just wasn't working for him. He was talked up as a GC favourite and a major contender for half a decade despite a record of consistent disappointment, and dour defensive riding that suggested even he himself was just waiting for things to go wrong.

However, much like Cuddles, he has managed to get one last chance to make right on that potential; with the style of rider he is, the Tour is the GT that Richie is best suited to, and Porte probably more than anybody else has benefited from the Covid lockdown and cancellations because it's prevented him from overracing himself in the first half of the season, as he had a tendency to do, and that's enabled him, at age 35, to finally overcome that hurdle and achieve at a level commensurate with his perceived ability. So in some respects you could argue that's a huge slice of luck that Richie has had, ironically enough.

 

[42x16ss]

Robbie McEwen agreed with some of your points re: Porte last night and also raised the point that he's good at the TDU every year meaning that he's one of the riders who can get close to his best without needing much racing.

He basically said that not being overdone and being able to get into form almost entirely through training has been a big help for Porte. I also think missing his daughter's birth has made him singularly determined to get something from this Tour as well.

 

[TomLPC]

As above, the look on his face today was shades of a steely Cadel realising there was nowhere to hide.

Richie would've lost 3 minutes after the puncture or the capitulated to an anonymous 20th after the crosswinds, but Richie wasn't there on that climb, today we finally saw Richard.