He came, he saw, and he almost conquered, but in the end Esteban Chaves was forced to concede defeat to Richie Porte at the Tour Down Under.
The Colombian’s honest assessment was that Porte ‘had no contender’ and few would disagree after the BMC Racing rider won both uphill finishes to finish almost a minute ahead of his Orica-Scott rival. However this is January and not July and one can expect many twists and turns before the Tour sets off in Germany on July 1.
Orica-Scott and Chaves are still keeping their cards close to their chest in regards to Chaves’ main goals for the season. With the Colombian, and the Yates brothers, Orica-Scott have three potential Grand Tour podium contenders and the consensus is that they will be split their arsenal rather than target them all on one assault.
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Chaves, twice on the podium in Grand Tours, is arguably Orica-Scott’s best chance of success at the Tour de France and his inaugural Tour Down Under appearance was just as much about building his profile in the Australian market as it was about stocking up on sun drenched kilometres. He remains coy on if he will also lead Orica-Scott in July.
“I don’t know if I will go to the Tour de France,’’ he said when meeting the question head on.
“First I will finish the Australian season with the Cadel race, the Sun Tour and then I go back home for the nationals. Then we’ll make the decision on the next races.”
In praise of Porte
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