23 July, 2016, Morzine (FRA)
Richie Porte has all but wrapped up fifth place at the Tour de France, his best result to date, after the final day in the mountains on stage 20.
With only 1’06” separating second and fifth place on the General Classification going into the stage, a showdown on the four climbs was expected. Torrential rain made for difficult conditions and neutralized any attacks from the General Classification contenders.
An early breakaway group of 37 riders eventually dispersed over the climbs, making way for multiple attacks throughout the 146.5km stage. Whilst many riders attempted to go solo, it was Ion Izaguirre (Movistar Team) who launched a successful solo attack on the descent of the Col de Joux Plane to take the stage win.
Porte crossed the line in Morzine with the yellow jersey group to secure fifth place, capping off a successful first Tour de France with BMC Racing Team.
The peloton now prepares for the finale in Paris on stage 21 and one last chance for the sprinters to take the win on the Champs-Elysées.
Quotes from the Finish Line
Richie Porte:
“It’s a great result but it’s a bit bittersweet to just throw away time like I have done on a few days. I think it leaves me a little more motivated for next year so I look forward to having another go at it. I move on and now I’ve got the Olympics to look forward to so hopefully I’ll take some good form out of this race and have a good go there.”
“Coming down off those descents before the Joux Plane, everyone was just frozen solid. The Joux Plane is not an easy climb and at the pace they set it was quite hard to do anything from it. Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) set a place that was basically impossible to attack off. It is just a nice day to get done. Every descent we did today was just dangerous and slippery so I don’t think anyone wanted to risk anything, and I think Team Sky had it under control anyhow.”
“It does give me confidence for next year. A few times there I had a bit of bad luck but it’s exciting for next year. I’ll hopefully come back and give it another crack and see what I can do.”
Yvon Ledanois, Sports Director:
“It’s really unfortunate to have lost 1’45” on stage 2 due to Richie’s mechanical. If you look at the final top ten you see what a difference a time loss like that might have made to Richie’s overall place. Richie probably would have had the podium in Paris, but that’s cycling.”
“Richie was super strong the whole race. He showed what he can do and fifth place is a great result for him in his first attempt as a team leader. This result is a great motivator for next year. We know we have a strong leader with Richie and I’m really proud of him and the way the team worked around him. He had some bad luck with the mechanical problem on stage 2, the disaster on Mont Ventoux and the crash yesterday, so finally fifth place is a really good result.”
Race Profile
Tour de France
Stage 20 Megève > Morzine (146.5km)
Top 3: Ion Izaguirre (Movistar Team), Jarlinson Pantano (IAM Cycling), Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Pro Team).
BMC Racing Team Top 3: 16. Damiano Caruso, 22. Richie Porte, 53. Amaël Moinard
BMC Racing Team Top 3 on GC: 5. Richie Porte, 22. Damiano Caruso, 29. Tejay van Garderen.
