Touching down in a wet and chilly Brittany for his sixth Tour de France, but first as a team leader, the 31-year-old paused to reflect on his journey from Hadspen to Mont-Saint-Michel.

“This is the race I used to stay up to ungodly hours watching, so to ride it is a dream come true,” he told Fairfax Media.

“It’s still special. When you arrive in Paris it is still the most special feeling. This is the ultimate in road cycling and a privilege to be here all the way from Tasmania. It’s a world away.”

On Saturday, Porte and 197 like-minded cyclists will embark on the first of 21 individual races featuring 3535 kilometres, nine mountain stages and two time trials reaching up to 2408m in altitude and passing through four countries and 660 cities before reaching the famed Champs-Élysées.

Embarking on his tenth Grand Tour, six years after leading his first at the 2010 Giro d’Italia, Porte has helped teammates to victory in Paris in 2011, ’12, ’13 and ’15 but is upping the ante this year following his move from Team Sky to BMC.

”​This is the reason why I left Sky, to take my own opportunities.

“Of course it’s a bit more stressful, but it’s why we’re here. This is always the most stressful race of the year because it is the biggest one we do.

“BMC is one of the biggest teams and with that comes the pressure to perform but this is what you get paid for.

“It’s the biggest market for sponsors so July is when you need to perform.”

Sharing team leadership with American Tejay van Garderen, Porte has timed his training regime around the Tour, building form with a second place in the Australian time trial and Tour Down Under followed by third place in Paris-Nice and an unlucky fourth at a top quality Critérium du Dauphiné.

”Training has gone really well and this is the big goal of the year so I’m ready for everything and I’ve never hit peak fitness in July before.

“The thing about the Tour is you’ve got to expect the unexpected every day. I don’t think there’s much that can happen that can shock me.

“I’ve got my chance to ride my own race instead of being a back-up GC (general classification) or a support rider so that’s quite exciting for me.

“I’m happy with where I’m at. I’m in good form and am just really looking forward to getting started.

“If it looks like I am flying under the radar, that is fine with me.”

Race favourite is Porte’s long-time teammate, friend and co-opted Tasmanian Chris Froome, the Brit who is seeking to join Greg LeMond as a three-time winner, closely followed by another former team leader, Spaniard Alberto Contador (Tinkoff).

Colombian Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Frenchmen Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) and Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) plus Italy’s Astana teammates Fabio Aru and Vincenzo Nibali provide more threats, but Porte admitted it is his former teammates that generate the most interest.

“It’s the most asked question I get that I’ve got the inside info on them but it does not really make all that much difference. Even having roomed with them both, you can still only really focus on yourself.

“When you’ve been a pro for long enough you should know the tactics most teams are going to use.

“When it comes to the last climb it’s every man for himself and you still have to have the legs.”

Porte, whose former Tasmanian team manager Andrew Christie-Johnston is attending his first Tour de France to cheer him on, said this year’s course will provide its usual obstacles and opportunities.

“I've checked out nine of the 21 stages. We’ve done quite a lot of the Alps and Pyrenees.

“We’ve seen the crucial ones in the last week in the Alps, I know them quite well. It is without doubt one of the hardest final weeks in memory.

“You’ve just got to stay out of trouble for the first week, that’s when most big accidents happen and there’s stages with crosswinds which you don’t get to see on TV but certainly see the result.

“Each stage is ridden like a one-day race with sprinters going for wins and the GC contenders trying to keep out of trouble. But there is only so much room on the road so it gets quite busy.”

While seeking to become the second Australian to win the world’s biggest bike race, and in the same colours as the first (Cadel Evans), the former Hagley Farm student is also hoping to become Tasmania’s first individual stage winner.

Porte has previously finished second behind Froome while Launceston’s Matthew Goss has been part of a team time trial success with GreenEdge, but stage 18, a 17km uphill individual time trial from Sallanches to Megève, presents an ideal invitation.

“I went and looked at it two weeks ago,” Porte said.

“It’s not too technical, just a mix of steep uphill and gradual uphill. It’s a lot like the Paris-Nice time trial up Col d’Eze which I’ve won twice (in 2013 and 2015).

“I could win it. Climbing is what I do and time trialling is what I used to do so if you put the two together it’s fair to say I’ve got a chance.

“There’s a long way to go and a lot of fatigue before that, but sitting here now, that is definitely one of the stages I will be targeting.”

In other Tasmanian cycling news, Porte’s frequent training partner Will Clarke has been named in the seven-rider Drapac team to ride the Tour of Austria from Saturday.

Meanwhile, Madeleine Fasnacht finished second in the under-19 road championships individual time trial in the ACT.