Richie Porte: 'Chris Froome obviously didn't want to see me win. You don't forget that for July'
Porte hints at Tour de France revenge after losing the Dauphiné on the final stage
Richie Porte (BMC Racing), who lost the Critérium du Dauphiné overall lead on the final stage on Sunday, indicates payback may come in the Tour de France for the way Chris Froome (Team Sky) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) raced.
The other favourites isolated Porte on the penultimate climb and took turns attacking. Froome accelerated away from his former Team Sky helper just before the summit and went solo on the descent from the Col de la Colombière.
"It was me against everyone for a little bit," Porte said.
"Valverde and Froome obviously didn't want to see me win the race. That's racing, but you don't forget that for July."
>>> Five things we learned from the Critérium du Dauphiné
The 32-year-old Tasmanian held his ground and chased back to his rivals one by one, but was unable to regain enough time to prevent Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) winning the stage and the race overall.
Porte complemented Fuglsang's "brilliant" ride. He had won stage six and sat third overall, only 1-15 behind Porte at the start of Sunday's final stage.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Watch: Critérium du Dauphiné stage eight highlights
Froome sat 1-02 behind in second place overall and Spaniard Valverde was fifth at 1-43. They slipped to fourth and ninth, respectively.
Fuglsang won the overall by 10 seconds over Porte and 1-32 over Daniel Martin (Quick-Step Floors).
"I've been in those situations myself a lot of times," Froome said of Porte. "That's when the weight of having the yellow jersey really falls on your shoulders. You feel as if the whole world is out to get you. That's part of racing."
Porte switched to BMC Racing in 2016 and last year led the team to fifth overall in the Tour. This year, he appears to be on another level winning the Tour Down Under and the Tour de Romandie, and dominating the Critérium du Dauphiné.
>>> Analysis: It's advantage Porte, but Chris Froome has reason for optimism as the Tour approaches
Porte won the time trial and appeared in control of the Dauphiné's yellow jersey until Sunday. Despite finishing second to Fuglsang, the Australian now appears to be the favourite for the upcoming Tour de France.
"Obviously you could see they were ganging up on me. It would've been handy to have a few more team-mates there," Porte added.
"They attacked the absolute hell out of us from the start. I found myself in a position with no team-mates. There were guys who preferred me not win the race instead of going for it themselves.
"I don't know what you can learn from that. I think it swings and roundabouts. Maybe I have a favour to repay come July."
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.
-
Forget distance covered, these are the key stats to note in your Strava Year in Sport
We asked a coach how to best analyse our end of year Strava data
By Tom Davidson Published
-
'She should show a bit more respect' - Lotte Kopecky responds to Demi Vollering comments
The pair seemingly had one last fractious year together at SD Worx-Protime in 2024
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Chris Froome misses out on Tour de France selection
39-year-old absent from Israel-Premier Tech's eight-rider roster
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Primož Roglič seals the overall victory at the Critérium du Dauphiné after late scare on the Plateau des Glières
Carlos Rodríguez wins the final stage of the race with an attack on the climb to Plateau des Glières
By Joseph Lycett Published
-
Remco Evenepoel struggles for form in the mountains as Primož Roglič affirms Tour de France favourite status
'The shape is just not there' says Soudal - Quick-Step leader, while Roglič on track for Tour success after two stage wins at Critérium du Dauphiné
By Dan Challis Published
-
Primož Roglič victorious in brutal Critérium du Dauphiné queen stage
Bora-Hansgrohe leader sprints to win atop Samoëns 1600 ahead of Matteo Jorgensen and Giulio Ciccone
By Dan Challis Published
-
Primož Roglič blitzes his rivals to win stage six of Critérium du Dauphiné and take over the race lead
Slovenian outsprinted Giulio Ciccone in the final kilometre of the summit finish at Le Collet d'Allevard to take over the yellow jersey from Remco Evenepoel
By Tom Thewlis Last updated
-
'A good sign towards the Tour de France': Remco Evenepoel takes time trial victory at Critérium du Dauphiné
World champion takes first victory since he was involved in Itzulia horror crash
By Adam Becket Published
-
'It was a nice first day, but definitely took a bit out of the legs' - Mark Donavan on his day out in the breakaway at the Critérium du Dauphiné
The British rider leads the mountains classification after the opening stage of the race
By Joseph Lycett Published
-
Mads Pedersen sprints to victory on stage 1 of the Critérium du Dauphiné
The Lidl-Trek rider outsprinted Sam Bennett to win the opening stage and take the first maillot jaune of the race
By Joseph Lycett Published