Porte’s Tassie build-up underpins 2016 hopes

RICHIE Porte will again use Tasmania as his launching pad as he prepares to hit the ground full throttle in 2016.

Tour de France - Stage 10

RICHIE Porte will use Tasmania as his launching pad for 2016 as he prepares to hit the ground full throttle following his switch from Team Sky to BMC.

After weeks of speculation, one of cycling’s worst kept ­secrets was officially revealed last weekend when Porte ­announced he would leave the British-based outfit for BMC.

The 30-year-old used his home state’s unforgiving terrain — convincing Tour de France champion Chris Froome to join him in the process — to log his base miles before heading to Europe this year.

He was the hottest rider on the planet after winning the national time trial championship, his second Paris-Nice title and overall honours at the Volta a Catalunya and Giro del Trentino. And although injury eventually curtailed his Giro d’Italia hopes, he bounced back to play a major role in delivering Froome his second Tour crown last month.

Having made the decision to leave Team Sky for BMC to pursue his own General Classification ambitions, Porte knows he will face extra scrutiny next season and intends to follow a similar path to what made 2015 so successful.

“This year I set myself up by coming back to Tassie and ­really just being professional,” Porte told the Mercury. “There were no nights out drinking beer. I was really motivated and focused and I think next year that’s the thing. The bigger the contract you sign, the more expectation there is.

“For me, I’m going to have a lot of expectation on me next year and so it’s crucial to have a great off-season, and doing some base miles, I don’t think you can beat Tasmania for that.”

Convincing Froome to ride in Tasmania created a huge buzz in the state, with 20,000 people packing the streets of Launceston in December for the Stan Siejka Classic to catch a glimpse of the pair.

Porte said it was unlikely BMC’s other big gun Tejay van Garderen would join him Down Under, but scoffed at suggestions the pair would not be able to work together to chase individual glory.

“I think he [van Garderen] is quite happy going back to Aspen and having his off-season,” Porte said. “But I’ve got ‘Flakey’ [Campbell Flakemore] ­obviously down in Hobart so I’m sure we will catch up and do some training together.

“Journalists have to write something so they will always come up with that [potential clashes between the two big GC riders].

“What they don’t focus on is [Nairo] Quintana and [Alejandro] Valverde finishing second and third this year, or they forget Froome and [Bradley] Wiggins in 2012 coming first and second. It is not the first time two guys from one team do well in races together.

“I get along well with Tejay, he gets along well with me. We have already talked about it and it’s not going to be an issue at all.”

Porte admitted the decision to leave Sky — the biggest team on the tour — was difficult, but said the move was amicable and the door was open to return.

“I’ve ridden four Tour de Frances. Three of them we’ve won, as well as countless other races we’ve won. And the friends I have there, that made it a bit sad,” he said. “All good things come to an end, don’t they.”

Porte said he was leaving Sky “on fantastic terms”.

Originally published as Porte’s Tassie build-up underpins 2016 hopes