As Richie Porte crashed out of the Tour de France on stage 9 for the second year in a row, his – and his BMC team's – thoughts immediately turned to recovering in order to race the Vuelta a España, as well as to mount a serious bid on winning the rainbow jersey at the world championship road race in Innsbruck, Austria, on September 30.
Becoming world champion might arguably be a longer-lasting legacy for the Australian than winning the Vuelta, but both are certainly within the 33-year-old's grasp. Crashing out of the Tour early, while hugely distressing for Porte, his team and his legions of fans, might prove to be a blessing in disguise if he can finish the season as either Vuelta or world champion.
Of course, the small cloud over it all is that Porte is about to leave BMC Racing after three seasons with the squad, which metamorphoses into a CCC-sponsored set-up for 2019.
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Porte will purportedly head to Trek-Segafredo, although no official announcement had yet been made just two days before the start of the Vuelta.
Another rider in the eight-man squad whose days with BMC are about to be up is time trial specialist and future Grand Tour hopeful Rohan Dennis, who will move to Bahrain-Merida next year. Ditto Belgian all-rounder Dylan Teuns, who follows Dennis to the Bahrain-backed team for 2019.
Both riders will look to support Porte in his quest to take the Vuelta crown, but both Dennis and Teuns will have the opportunity to nab stage wins along the way, in the two time trials and on hillier stages, respectively.
BMC Racing's Vuelta a España team
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via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/all-in-for-richie-porte-a-closer-look-at-bmcs-vuelta-a-espana-team
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