RICHIE’S TIME

Porte primed for Tour — if BMC riders do their bit

THE Tour de France is Richie Porte’s for the taking, as long as his BMC teammates can hold their end of the bargain, says friend and fellow Tasmanian athlete Cameron Wurf.

A former Olympic rower, professional cyclist and now ironman, Wurf has no doubt Porte is the hottest rider in the peloton leading into this year’s race, which starts on Saturday night, Australian time.

He said the biggest concern was Porte’s support crew not being there when the whips were cracking, a factor that cost him the win at the Criterium du Dauphine earlier this month.

Porte held the leader’s jersey on the second last stage to Alpe d’Huez, but was left isolated on the final day when his rivals attacked, and he eventually finished runner-up.

“There is no doubt Richie is the strongest cyclist in that field at the moment,” Wurf told the Mercury.

“These guys know, poundfor-pound, if they get to the bottom of a climb all equal, Richie will annihilate them every single time.

“This is 100 per cent his year, the biggest challenge he is going to face is running his team . . . he needs to keep those guys calm.

“He had a difficult Dauphine, that last stage where they threw the kitchen sink at him and the team wasn’t there for him.

“But as I’ve said to him since, you have to think back to the way Sky raced, they didn’t care if people attacked, they sat there and grinded and Richie was the one leading the arsenal.

“This is the same approach he needs to take with his own team.

“If they can deliver Richie to the crucial points in the race, I have no doubt he won’t be beaten, he will win the Tour.”

Wurf trains with Porte during the Australian summer when the pair return home and noticed a much more determined man seven months ago.

After ending his 2016 campaign following his crash at the Rio Olympics, Porte has been focused on one goal and has left no stone unturned in his preparations for Le Tour.

“He has barely put a foot wrong all year, now he just has to hold it together for another three weeks,” Wurf said.