Porte will get jump on rivals
Not TDU but star to tune up at new Adelaide event
THE defence of his Tour Down Under title has been stripped away but Richie Porte is determined to use the replacement event to get some conditioning over his European rivals.
Last year’s Tour de France podium finisher will contest the four National Road Series (NRS) stage races starting Thursday, as part of the Santos Festival of Cycling in Adelaide, kicking off today.
Porte, who arrived back in Tasmania prior to Christmas, will ride for Team GarminAustralia
in the four-day event. And although he might not be chasing back-to-back TDU crowns, after the race was cancelled due to COVID-19, Porte has no plans to take it easy when he hits the starts line.
“It is hard to justify to coming back to Australia if the Tour Down Under is not on,” Porte said. “Basically once that race was cancelled, really the reason to come back here was gone.
“But lucky for me I got a call from Stuart O’Grady who is the organiser of the Tour Down Under and they were
keen to have me in Adelaide for their festival of cycling.
“I see those races as a bit of a head start on everybody back in Europe who is struggling to get outside to train.”
Porte is no stranger to racing in his home country early
in a new season, and despite this event running two less days than the TDU, the iconic Willunga Hill stage — which the 35-year-old won from 2014 to 2019 — will still take centre stage. The event, Porte’s first for Team Ineos
Pinarello, will begin a 2021 likely to continue in Italy in March. Fellow Tasmanian Georgia Baker will also feature at the festival in the Adelaide Track League, with a host of Olympians set to light up the velodrome.