So much for conventional wisdom. The external expectation was that Richie Porte’s early-season exploits at the Tour Down Under meant he might be a step ahead of his rivals at the Tour of Oman, but instead, the BMC rider’s long trek from Australia has been blamed for his low-key showing on the opening two stages.
Porte was dropped on the final climb of Tuesday’s opening stage, conceding three and a half minutes in the process, and he effectively repeated the dose on stage 2. This time out, the Tasmanian was among those distanced even before the short climb to the line at Quriyat, eventually coming home a little over three minutes down.
For the second successive day, Porte declined to field questions from reporters at the finish, and instead it was left to BMC directeur sportif Fabio Baldato to speak on the new signing’s behalf. The Italian explained that Porte had sat up as a precaution in the finale.
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“He was already out of GC after yesterday so it was better for him to stay out of trouble today,” Baldato said.
A phalanx of BMC riders were prominent on the approach the final climb in a bid to position Greg Van Avermaet, who eventually placed third in the uphill sprint behind winner Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data), though Porte was not among them.
“We had six riders for Van Avermaet in the final, and Richie was already behind because the plan was not to take risks,” Baldato said. “It was better for Richie to be out of the front and avoid risking a crash.
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