Porte returned to Monaco on Monday from Canada and the US, where he trained at high altitude with Froome and his Sky team after the US Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado from August 19-25. If we can help each other," said Porte, who has never forgotten Evans for his help on his grand tour debut in the 2010 Giro d'Italia, when Evans advised him on climbs en route to placing seventh overall, wearing the leader's pink jersey for three days and winning the white best young riders' strip. Is he confident Evans will do the same for him in similar circumstances? "Cadel is a professional and so am I. He's lean and on a course like that - he's done it before, hasn't he? If I have a bad day I'll have no trouble at all in trying to give him a hand for the win." "I had a little chat with him about it," Porte told Fairfax Media on Wednesday from Dolceacqua, in the Italian province of Imperia during a break in a ride that included 3,200m of climbing.Īsked about Evans, Porte said: "He's fit. If the chance arises, he will try to win it after spending most of this season at the service of his Sky leader, Englishman Chris Froome, who won the Tour de France and will this time be a rival in Florence.īut Porte is confident Evans will be worth supporting should he be a better option between the two for an Australian win. Porte should be strong in all his three events, but his priority is the road race. While the men's elite road race is the top event, Australia will field strong line-ups in every race - from the team time trials for trade squads in which the Australian men's Orica-GreenEDGE and women's Orica-AIS are highly fancied, to all road and individual time trial races. Porte, meanwhile, has taken a steadier build-up towards the road race, which he will enter for only the second time after his debut last year.īut he will start after having competed in Sunday's first world championship event - the 57.2km team time trial he will race for his British Sky team - followed by the 57.9km individual time trial on Wednesday for which he will swap his black and blue Sky strip for the white with green and yellow hooped jersey of the Australian team. And judging by his recent form - highlighted by a stage win in the Tour of Alberta in Canada - he is on the right trajectory for a best performance in Sunday week's race. It will suit him that this year's circuit in Florence is tougher than at Mendrisio. Evans won the 2009 world title in Mendrisio, Switzerland, on a hilly course.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |