EDWARD PICKERING

Sometimes the news is so bad it’s hard to process. When we heard that Ineos DS Nicolas Portal had died at the age of 40 from a heart attack, it was almost impossible to believe. And it’s a mark of the shock at how tragically young he was, and the respect with which he was held in cycling, that tributes came pouring in.

Portal was the unsung hero of Team Ineos. He was in the team car for all of their Tour wins from 2013 on; also for Chris Froome’s spectacular 2018 Giro win. Just on a sporting level, he was up there with the most successful managers of all time. But that’s not the primary reason for which cycling remembers him. Universally, the sporting tributes from everybody who had ever met him were secondary to the memories of, simply, what a great guy he was. He was approachable, friendly, honest, intelligent, open, generous, articulate, fun and warm. I sometimes think that his team would have had half the criticism they have if he’d been put on the press conference table.

We used to have a regular chat after the Tour de France at the Sky/ Ineos bus in Paris. They always park in the same place, on the corner of the Rue Royale on the Place de la Concorde. Portal stood in the sunshine and explained year after year why Chris Froome, then Geraint Thomas, then Egan Bernal had won the Tour. His quotes, always insightful, usually formed the foundation for my feature wrapping up the Tour, and our regular meeting had become a small running joke. “Same time, same place, next year?” I would say at the end. I remember one year his daughter was playing around his legs as we spoke.

Cycling, and life, move on fast. But sometimes it’s as well to pause and reflect. Nico Portal was a rare individual, and we will remember him fondly.