RICHIE PORTE
Date of birth: 30/01/1985
Team: Sky
Previous teams: Praties (2008-2009); Team Saxo-Bank (2010-11)
Richie Porte career profile
Australian Richie Porte began racing in 2006 after quitting triathlon and quickly progressed as one of the professional peloton's most gifted riders.
A ninth place finish in the 2008 Tour Down Under signalled his emergence in the sport, and preceded a move to Australian team Praties.
At Praties Porte claimed overall victory in the GP Citta' di Felino before he demonstrated his time trialing abilities by winning the 2009 Girobio (more commonly known as the Baby Giro) individual TT.
He also placed third in the Australian National TT championships and tenth in Malaysia's Tour de Langkawi.
Porte's sudden rise up the general classifications and against the clock earned him his first professional contract with Team Saxo-Bank for the 2010 and 2011 season. Porte quickly made an impression, winning the Tour de Romandie TT.
The 2010 Giro d'Italia was Porte's first experience at a Grand Tour and he justified his selection with strong showings in the mountains and respectable time postings in the three time trials.
He wore the famed maglia rose for three successive stages from stage eleven. Porte's eventual seventh place on the GC won him the young riders classification.
He finished fourth in the 2010 Tour of Britain, before he concluded his breakthrough year on the professional circuit with an excellent fourth place in the World Championships TT.
2011 did not replicate the GC heights of the previous year for the Tasmanian, instead his season's highs confined to races against the clock.
The Paris-Nice TT saw Porte come home in third place behind Tony Martin and Bradley Wiggins, bettering that with second place in the Tour de Romandie's TT.
Selected once more for the Giro, Porte disappointed with an 81st placed finish overall, although his fourth place in the final stage's TT cemented his name as one of the discipline's best.
Porte made his Tour de France debut in 2011 and came fifth in the Tour's only TT. He won the TT in the Tour of Denmark and came sixth in the World Championships TT.
Upon his contract expiration at Team Saxo-Bank at the end of the 2011 season, Team Sky moved to acquire the talented rider who under the guidance of Dave Brailsford's coaching team began to record impressive results on hilly terrain.
His year began with a bronze medal in the Australian National road race and in his first stage race outing for Sky he won the Volta ao Algarve GC courtesy of a win on stage three and third place in the final day's TT.
At the Tour de Romandie he came third in the race's TT and fourth overall in support of Bradley Wiggins. Another fourth place on the GC came at the Bayern-Rundfahrt and whilst ably assisting Wiggins at the Criterium du Dauphine, Porte ended ninth on the GC.
As a domestique to Wiggins in his successful quest to win the 2012 Tour, Porte was widely praised for his efforts in the black and blue Sky jersey in France, crossing the finish line in Paris in 34th place overall.
In his first Vuelta a Espana appearance that year he showcased his class in the mountains when he was part of a successful attack on stage 20 that he finished in second place; he was 68th overall.
2013 started with Porte competing admirably in the Australian National TT (4th) and the Tour of Oman (37th) and in the spring Porte took his first overall WorldTour GC honours after two first placed results in the Paris-Nice earned him the race's yellow jersey.
At the ensuing Criterium International Porte won the TT and came second on the race's third and final day in Corscia to earn a Team Sky one-two behind Froome.
Penciled in as Froome's right hand man at the Tour, Porte continued to earn the plaudits with second place at the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco, eighth at the Tour de Romandie and second behind Froome at the Criterium du Dauphine.
It was at the Tour that Porte worked tirelessly to help Froome claim overall honours, Froome repeatedly pointing to Porte's efforts in leading him up the mountains as key to his victory. After finishing second behind Froome on the first mountain stage, it looked as if Porte might follow Froome onto the overall podium but his efforts caught up with him the following day.
Porte eventually finished 17th in the Tour, but his revival to assist Froome throughout the rest of the race confirmed his potential as a future Grand Tour contender.
Porte started 2015 strongly, winning key stages of the Tour Down Under and Volta ao Algarve before two stage wins and the overall in Paris-Nice and overall victory in Volta a Catalunya.
Richie Porte's results
2015
Australian national time trial title
Tour Down Under; stage five
Volta ao Algarve; stage four
Paris-Nice; stage four
Paris-Nice; stage seven (ITT)
Paris-Nice; overall
Volta a Catalunya; overall
2014
Tour Down Under; stage five
2013
Paris-Nice: overall
Paris-Nice: stage five
Paris-Nice: stage seven (ITT)
Criterium International: stage two
Vuelta Cislista al Pais Vasco: stage five
2012
Volta ao Algarve: overall
Volta ao Algarve: stage three
Australian National Road Race Championships: bronze
2011
Vuelta a Castilla y Leon: stage four (ITT)
Tour of Denmark: stage five (ITT)
2010
Tour de Romandie: stage three (ITT)
2009
Giro del Friuli Venezia Giuli: stage two
Giro Ciclistico d'Italia: stage four (ITT)
GP Citta' di Felino: overall
Australian National Time Trial Championships: bronze
2008
Tour of Wellington: stage two
GP Comune: overall
2007
Trofeo Sportivi: overall
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