Porte pulls no punches over Froome

RIVALS stepped up their mind games in a bid to undermine Chris Froome ahead of the Tour de France which starts tomorrow. While no riders have voiced any irritation with the UCI’s decision to clear the Brit over the nine-month doping case hanging over him, it is clear some hope the pre-race favourite is not in his best shape. Richie Porte, Froome’s former teammate turned rival, did not hold back when saying he hopes the 33-year-old is ‘b ****** d’ and ‘tired’ after his podium-topping efforts at the Giro d’Italia. Porte, who helped Froome to yellow jersey success at the Tour in 2013 and 2015, will be vying for his first yellow jersey. And his rivalry with the Brit was made abundantly clear when he said: ‘It was nice to watch him in the Giro, I hope he’s b ****** d, which he might be.’ Although no one has completed the Giro-Tour double since Marco Pantani in 1998, Porte, 33, thinks Froome is arguably the only current rider that would be able to do it. ‘Chris has gone to the Giro with a super strong team and he’s come here to the Tour with an arguably stronger team,’ Porte said.