Interview with Tour of Romandie Stage Winner, Richie Porte

By Jarrod Partridge

Fresh off his Tour of Romandie stage win, we caught up with Tasmanian Riche Porte, to chat about  pretty much everything we could think of:

CT: Richie, first of all, congratulations on your stage win in the ITT at the Tour of Romandie. How did the ride feel? Can you take us through it a bit?

RP: Thanks. Straight after it I knew I nailed a perfect TT. I am my biggest critic and thought there were sections where I had lost time, but Brad McGee who followed me said after the race it was a good time and could possibly hold up! The course was perfect for me, I didn't have the fastest split after the climb but more importantly I got up the hill and felt great. Then I just hurt myself as much as possible on the flat sections and my time was good enough to hold up.

CT: At what point did you think you were a bit of a chance for the win?

RP: Straight after I did my cool down, then one of the mechanics said to me Basso was 1.30 down on me. Thats when it really sunk in that I had put in a solid performance, so I went and sat in the bus and watched it on TV with my team mates and staff. Then all the favourites came and were fast in the climb but fell off my pace in the end. It was incredible to see my name, just an average guy from Tassie on top of the leaders board and the biggest names in world cycling all chasing to beat me!

CT: The Tour of Romandie must have seen a range of emotions, from falling off in the Prologue to winning a stage and everything in between. Did you have to pinch yourself at times?

RP: I knew I had good form and I think I could have done a good prologue too. I took a risk in trying to take a high speed corner in my TT bars but half way through the corner I knew I was going too fast and ended up over the barriers feeling pretty silly, then Friday I was up on a world stage speaking to the worlds cycling media. Two massive contrasting days, I think I will be pinching myself for a while to come! 

CT: Speaking of pinching yourself, what was it like being in your first Saxo Bank training camp with the likes of Jens Voigt, Fabian Cancellara and the Schleck brothers?

RP: It was incredible, but then you realise they really are just normal blokes who happen to ride a bicycle really well. I look at those guys especially Stuart O'Grady and just hope that if I ever get half the results they have I can still keep such a level head.

CT: How big has the step up been from training with the Saxo Bank guys compared to what you were doing with Praties?

RP:  Totally different. It hasn't been so much a step up but more of a change in training technique. The biggest difference is as a Professional you race so much so now I train shorter but more specifically.

CT: Are you able to give us a bit of an insight into the type of training you have been doing in preparation for the Tour of Romandie and the Giro?

RP: I had a solid racing program in the early part of the season which laid a good foundation but its such a big step up to the pro ranks. I have been lucky to be able to utilise Brad McGee and his incredible knowledge. I had good power when testing but Brad has taught me how to control it over longer periods. I have to give Brad a lot of credit for my recent success.

CT: Now there's a bit of a rumour going round that at the first training camp you were able to swim 4 laps of an Olympic pool under water, while the rest of the team could only do one or two. Would you like to confirm and elaborate!!??

RP: I did 72 metres which is a fair bit shy of 4 laps. Being from a swimming background it was no real big deal, the best thing was being helped out of the pool by Bjarne and then Fabian patting me on the back! Downside is my new nick name among the team is Fish, hardly flattering for my efforts!

CT: You have your first Grand Tour coming up, how did you react when you heard you were in the squad?

RP: I wanted to do a GT in my first year, I thought most likely the Vuelta but then when they told me the Giro it was a nice surprise. I left Australia in 2007 and raced in Italy for three years so it will have more meaning to race on some of the roads which I fought so hard on to get my pro contract. 

CT: Now that you have a stage win under your belt, what are your goals for the rest of the season?

RP: Really I want to improve as a bike rider. I have the determination and also the support of arguably the best pro team in the world so the rest is up to me. I think there is plenty of fight left in me and I am determined to not be a one hit wonder! 

And finally...

CT: If you could only watch one TV programme for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

RP: I think it would have to be Entourage but sadly I have to admit to being a huge fan of Gilmore Girls! I had a crash in Italy in 2008 and spent a month laid up in bed, Mum sent me the box set and I ended up watching the whole 7 seasons of it, Italian tv is not much chop so we can put it down to desperate times calling for desperate measures!

Thanks so much for your time and good luck in the Giro!!

Be sure to follow Richie's efforts via his Twitter feed here http://twitter.com/porteye and via the Team Saxo Bank website here http://www.team-saxobank.com/