Porte’s the champion again Down Under
CYCLING: Richie Porte lost the battle but won the Tour Down Under war.
The King of Willunga was dethroned on his pet stage by British upstart Matt Holmes yesterday.
However, he did enough to overhaul defending champion Daryl Impey and claim the ochre jersey for the second time.
“Of course it would’ve been nice to have won the stage, but to win the race again is a fantastic feeling,” Porte said.
“It was a hard day for our team.
“There were times there where I thought the GC (general classification) was over and done with because it was a big group up the road.
“But credit to the guys, they pretty much single-handedly brought that all back and it’s a great feeling to finish their work off this week.”
It was Trek-Segafredo rider Porte’s first overall Tour Down Under win since 2017 and continues a remarkable run that has seen him finish in the top two in each of the last six years.
Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) had taken a two-second lead into the sixth and final stage but was unable to go with the Tasmanian on the brutal climb up Willunga Hill.
“It wasn’t a great day today,” Impey said.
“I struggled a bit there, the bottom slopes, and I was probably paying for quite a busy week.
“That being said, we gave it our all and I’m still happy with the performance, but obviously disappointed.
“We would’ve liked more, but that’s how it goes.”
Holmes, a Lotto-Soudal teammate of Australian sprint star Caleb Ewan, ended Porte’s six-year domination of the Willunga stage and secured his first World Tour win in the process.”