Richie Porte - what do we know about him?

[thehog]

One can only imagine what could have happened with Froome in that particular stage.

He wouldn't have finished with Nibali on that stage. So Brailsford saying Froome would have won the Tour is misguided.

 

[darwin553]

Why is Porte so inconsistent and prone to bad days?

Because at this moment in his career and as he has prepared for the tour, he is only a domestique rider. Hence, why he looks so inconsistent for an overall result. However, as a domestique, his performance so far is entirely consistent with this mode.

 

[Colonel]

I was on the last climb today with 3km to go and when Porte came passed he was totally broken. 10000 yard stare in autopilot.

 

[webvan]

Isn't he sick? You have to wonder why they've been keeping him in the race, makes no sense.

 

[mrhender]

At least we (maybe) know one thing...
Battery time is short in SKY..

I don't know if doping/training/tactics causes this, but surely they have consistency issues in this team..
The explanation could very well be lack of GT experience and talent in leadership.. We just don't know....!!

 

[DirtyWorks]

but surely they have consistency issues in this team..

That only started in 2014. 2013 and 2012, Sky just had to announce they were targeting a race and made the peloton look like amateurs at that race. And they did that for months at a time.

Something sure changed in 2014. No doubt.

 

[MellowJohnny]

the fact that sky are taking such a hammering is proving to me that they are in fact a clean team.

 

[BYOP88]

the fact that sky are taking such a hammering is proving to me that they are in fact a clean team.

Excellent! So by that logic we can say that Katusha, Lampre, Lotto etc are clean too.

 

[Le Baroudeur]

the fact that sky are taking such a hammering is proving to me that they are in fact a clean team.

A new pseudonym for being tactically dumb? Because regardless of whether they are clean or not they are ridding with surprising tactical naiveté, and almost always have done. Did they expect kiri to win today, or was it just a case that they forgot their wasn't anybody to use him as a bridge? Me thinks david sits down and watches "Tour de France, the not boring bits" DVD before each stage without reading the contextual footnotes for each clip. Not going to work against the teams in the clips.

 

[MellowJohnny]

I think they are desperately trying for a stage win and Kiri is the man with the best chance.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Isn't he sick? You have to wonder why they've been keeping him in the race, makes no sense.

Porte's software upgrade just didn't work.
New release required before the Vuelta.

 

[mrhender]

That only started in 2014. 2013 and 2012, Sky just had to announce they were targeting a race and made the peloton look like amateurs at that race. And they did that for months at a time.

Something sure changed in 2014. No doubt.

Genuine question...

What do you think changed?

They where still facing the same authorities/persons within those?

Do they have a leack? maybe?? (SKY,UCI,ASO, ETC) since we in general have seen more BP cases of late.. Combined with external pressure they may made a judgement of beeing more conservative in the expoitations of marginal gains/grey areas??
No joke, what do you think?

 

[Ledigi]

Genuine question...

What do you think changed?

They where still facing the same authorities/persons within those?

Do they have a leack? maybe?? (SKY,UCI,ASO, ETC) since we in general have seen more BP cases of late.. Combined with external pressure they may made a judgement of beeing more conservative in the expoitations of marginal gains/grey areas??
No joke, what do you think?

some people say Cookson is protecting Sky. But Sky went very good under MCQuaid and awful under Cookson. Something is wrong here.

 

[doperhopper]

Isn't he sick? You have to wonder why they've been keeping him in the race, makes no sense.

come on, this is showbiz, camera time pays (and most probably he's got more now, fading away, than he could hope for while staying in the group)

 

[SeriousSam]

some people say Cookson is protecting Sky. But Sky went very good under MCQuaid and awful under Cookson. Something is wrong here.

Froome seemed to be in blistering, world beating form at the beginning of the Dauphine. He probably would have won the Tour.

Richie might actually be sick, rather than laying off the dope.

 

[Le Baroudeur]

Froome seemed to be in blistering, world beating form at the beginning of the Dauphine. He probably would have won the Tour.

Richie might actually be sick, rather than laying off the dope.

Or sulking, again. DB certainly seems impressed by his form swings.

 

[thehook]

What I see of Porte is what I have seen from EBH, Dombrowski etc. Decline?

I wonder why "The Train" of the last two years is no longer effective? Kiri did a nice ride today. Got shelled on the last climb......Reboot!

 

[Frosty]

What I see of Porte is what I have seen from EBH, Dombrowski etc. Decline?

I wonder why "The Train" of the last two years is no longer effective? Kiri did a nice ride today. Got shelled on the last climb......Reboot!

Kiri had been in the break the previous day finishing 3rd.

The 2013 Sky tour de France team was not that great. Froome was badly isolated on one day and Sky struggled with the cross winds on another. Porte has not been good this year and Kennaugh has suffered with injuries as well, Stannard had that really bad injury from earlier in the year.

 

[darwin553]

Anyway you look at this performance from Porte - it puts into doubt the skeptics about Sky and whether they are clean.

 

[thrawn]

Anyway you look at this performance from Porte - it puts into doubt the skeptics about Sky and whether they are clean.

How?????????????

 

[JimmyFingers]

The most curious thing about Porte is how he seems to be undroppable. The highlight of his 2014 season is a stage win at the TDU, in January. He DNF at LBL, didn't start the Giro, went backwards at the first mountainous stage of the Dauphine, yet still manages to secure a berth in the TdF squad, not just as domestique, which might have been justifiable, but as heir apparent. Hilarious really that both Sky and the more rabid elements of the clinic thought he was actually going to win it.

And something stinks in Brailsford's handling of this. Why leave Wiggins and Kennaugh at home and take a formless, unproven (in 0214) Porte? i was saying this before the Tour and generally was geing shouted down, people saw his 2013 as demonstrative of his ability, and yet he was worse that pathetic in the Tour. At first he said he struggled with the heat, then a DS said he was sick. Frankly I don't care about either: he shouldn't have started the Tour.

 

[The Hitch]

How?????????????

Same way Cobo proved he is clean since his Vuelta win.

 

[darwin553]

Anyone else get the feeling that Porte has fallen out of the team given the drop off in pace. That or his given up trying because he lost any chance of a podium

 

[del1962]

Anyone else get the feeling that Porte has fallen out of the team given the drop off in pace. That or his given up trying because he lost any chance of a podium

I think it is more that illness in this race and througout season seems to have taken its toll.

 

[Cycle Chic]

Why doesnt he pull out ? whats the point of continuing ??