SEVEN months before they take on the Alpine peaks of the Tour de France together, two of the planet’s highest profile cyclists were yesterday tackling the more genteel slopes of Launceston’s City Park.
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Richie Porte delivered on his promise of persuading 2013 Tour de France champion Chris Froome to ride in his home state and the Kenyan-born Brit quickly formed as positive an opinion of his new surroundings as he holds for his Sky teammate.
The Monaco-based 29-year-olds rode a circuit around Hadspen, Bridgenorth and Exeter, occasionally stopping for selfie requests from onlookers, as they prepare to contest this weekend’s Launceston Cycling Festival
‘‘Since I’ve got to know Richie I’ve wanted to come down here because it’s a fantastic place to train in the off-season and normally his form in January-February speaks for itself,’’ he said.
‘‘I could see in a ride of just three hours that you guys really do have some amazing roads out here and a good climate at this time of year when it’s pretty rough over in Europe.
‘‘I didn’t know a lot about Tasmania but you speak to any bike rider and they say their home is the best place to train so I had to come here and see for myself.
‘‘I’ve been to the mainland a couple of times but never to Tassie but I’d heard from Richie that Tassie is a lot more laid back and I think it does live up to that. It definitely seems like the kind of place I’d like to come in my winter.’’
The pair will use today’s kermesse at Symmons Plains and tomorrow’s Stan Siejka Launceston Classic criterium to begin their racing seasons.
Froome heaped praise on his regular Tasmanian room-mate who helped both him and Bradley Wiggins land cycling’s biggest prize.
‘‘I don’t know what Richie’s plans are yet for next year but I’m sure that Grand Tours are going to be the main focus. I think he had a great opportunity this year but unfortunately he got sick during the Tour when he was sitting second.
‘‘He’s got the ability to [win a Grand Tour]. He helped me win, he helped Brad win the year before, he played a huge part in both those Tours and I definitely feel he’s got the potential to go all the way himself, it’s just a matter of time. I definitely think the best is still to come.’’
An outspoken advocate for his home state, Porte said he was delighted to be back in Tasmania and talked up the cycling talent pool it has produced.
‘‘It’s always nice to be back and great to have a good friend and a guy who’s won the Tour de France here to show him what we’ve got.
‘‘I warned him that it’s the roadkill capital of the world and we saw a bit of that but we’re blessed here, the roads are fantastic. Anywhere you go there’s a bit of a climb.
‘‘To see Campbell Flakemore sign with BMC, the second best team in the world, and with Georgia Baker and Macey Stewart, we do punch above our weight. In the pro peloton we’ve got Matthew Goss who won Milan-San Remo, Will Clarke, Bernie Sulzberger, all these guys. We are well over represented and I think that’s because of the territory we’ve got here.’’
Porte plans to introduce Froome to the Scottsdale loop, Poatina Hill, the East Coast and possibly have a crack at Cadel Evans’ record ascent of Hobart’s Mount Wellington, but not before taking on another star-studded field in tomorrow’s criterium where they will be joined by Sky teammate Nathan Earle, of Hobart.
‘‘I think the race is going to be quite tough,’’ Froome said.