The 2017 form of Richie Porte has seen the BMC rider firm as a bona fide Tour de France contender and 2011 champion Cadel Evans believes in the yellow jersey chances of his Australian compatriot.
"I don't think the team has ever looked so solid and I think this year Richie has proven himself again. Both Richie and the team around him are looking strong and very solid. I think they have a fantastic opportunity for themselves this July," Evans told Cyclingnews in a phone interview.
In his first outright attempt at racing for the yellow jersey, Porte was fifth overall in Paris last year. He previously rode in Sky's 2012 and 2013 Tour-winning teams, playing an instrumental role on both occasions.
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In the lead up to his 2011 Tour victory, Evans won Tirreno-Adriatico, the Tour de Romandie and finished second overall at the Criterium du Dauphine with BMC. In comparison, Porte started his season by winning the Tour Down Under, won a stage at Paris-Nice, before going on to win the Tour de Romandie and also finish second at the Dauphine.
Assessing the first half of Porte's season and preparation for the Tour de France, Evans told Cyclingnews he sees parallels between his Tour winning year and Porte's 2017.
"I think he was quite well prepared at Paris-Nice but there was a little strategic error rather than the fact that he wasn't good enough to get a better result there," he said of the race where Porte's GC hopes were blown away in the crosswinds.
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