Porte motivated for Paris-Nice

Richie Porte is hoping that he and Team Sky can keep their current momentum rolling at Paris-Nice.

Richie Porte is hoping that he and Team Sky can keep their current momentum rolling at Paris-Nice.

The Tasmanian has enjoyed an impressive start to the season, and on Sunday will return to the historic French stage race for the first time since clinching the yellow jersey in 2013.

With a successful block of training complete and a great atmosphere in the team, Porte heads into the eight-day event in a good place.

“Everything’s going really well. I’m healthy and I’m in a good routine training back in Europe,” he told TeamSky.com. “The weather’s been good, we’ve got a great team and everyone is motivated by the results we’ve been getting.

“I’m really looking forward to getting into Paris-Nice. It’s a race where I’ve got happy memories from two years ago.”

Porte will line up as part of a strong Team Sky squad, featuring another former Paris-Nice winner in Sir Bradley Wiggins, plus recent Volta ao Algarve champ and race leader last year Geraint Thomas.

With his sights firmly fixed on the general classification, Porte has plenty of praise for his team-mates and a selection which gives Team Sky plenty of cards to play.

“Obviously G is coming off an awesome win in Algarve. He and I have a target in the general classification and we’re both really motivated. But we’ve got such a strong squad. Nicolas Roche is a great road captain. We’ve got Luke Rowe, Swifty (Ben Swift), Lars Petter (Nordhaug) and then Bernie (Eisel) who brings real experience. Then we’ve got Brad. Obviously it’s a big opportunity for Brad wearing the world champs jersey.”

Morale

After two wins in succession, Paris-Nice proved to be a race of mixed emotions for Team Sky in 2014 after Thomas crashed out while wearing the yellow jersey.

Porte also endured a difficult season hampered by illness, but 12 months on the 30-year-old feels he, and the team, are in a much better position.

He explained: “Last year was obviously a year I’d like to forget but this time around the big thing for me was just trying to stay healthy. I’ve been doing a really good block of training with Tim Kerrison. We’ve got a good bunch at our base here in Monaco. I think everyone in our team is so happy to see others doing well. It’s infectious.

“If we can keep winning races it doesn’t matter who it is. We have great morale and everybody is fresh and motivated.”

Porte has plenty of reason to be motivated when he looks at the route for Paris-Nice. With a summit finish and the Col d’Eze time trial both returning, a more selective race is on the cards, albeit with a familiar feel.

“If I look at it it’s much the same parcours as 2013 when I won it,” he added. “I know there are some really hard days towards the finale, but it’s Paris-Nice and you don’t want to be caught napping in those first few days either. You have to expect the unexpected. But with the experience and the horsepower that we have I think a lot of guys will be looking at our team. We’ve got different cards that we can play for every situation.”

And as if Porte didn’t need any extra motivation. “I’ve got my Aussie national champs TT bike now,” he beamed. “A little thing like that gives you huge motivation. Looking down and seeing the green and yellow is pretty cool”