‘Hurts more than words can express’: Richie Porte misses birth of his daughter while riding Tour de France
Stage seven was a rough day on the road for the Australian, but he now has a reason to get to Paris even quicker
Richie Porte said he was bitterly disappointed with stage seven of the Tour de France, but there was an even bigger hurt away from the race for the Australian.
While racing in the crosswinds from Millau to Lavuar, Porte missed the birth of his second child, a daughter, which he said “hurts more than words can express.”
Trek-Segafredo rider Porte, who lost more than a minute to the favourites on stage seven, said: “While yesterday was bitterly disappointing on the bike, my wife Gemma and I had this little bundle of joy arrive.
"Hurts more than words can express to miss the birth of your child, but thank you Trek-Segafredo for being so supportive.
“Will be a long and tough race mentally now but the biggest gift awaits after Paris.”
Porte suffered a rough day on stage seven as Ineos Grenadiers forced splits in the wind later in the stage to distance GC rivals.
The tactic worked as Porte, Mikel Landa (Bahrain-McLaren) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) found themselves trailing off the back of the front group.
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Ineos rider Richard Carapaz also fell victim to his team’s tactics, as he suffered a punctured and lost time.
By the finish, the Porte group had fallen 1-21 behind the favourites and the 35-year-old has now fallen back five places overall to 20th place.
The Australian is still chasing Tour de France victory after years of bad luck.
After finishing fifth in the 2016 Tour, Porte crashed out of the 2017 and 2018 Tours on stage nine on both occasions.
Last season he made it through the race with no major incidents but was never quite on the same level as past seasons, moving up to 10th place in the final week before settling for 11th place by the time the race reached Paris.
>>> Here’s all the riders that have been fined in the Tour de France 2020
Porte has two children, after the birth of his son Luca in 2018.
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Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
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