The Tour de France began on Saturday night for the 104th time as it so often does these days outside the French borders.

This time it’s Dusseldorf, Germany, and Richie Porte is one of the real favourites to win the great event on general classification and with it the prized final yellow jersey.

It will be his seventh straight Tour ride.

In many of the references to Porte in the European media – online, written, radio and television he is announced as Tasmanian, more often than as Australian.

What a wonderful thing for the state and above all for every Tasmanian who aspires to their own pinnacle achievement in life.

Whether it begins with the anecdotes of Richie working as a young lifeguard at Launceston swimming centre or patrolling the boundary tossing the ball in at local footy games, this is a wonderful and inspiring story – whatever happens over the next three weeks.

Just to be one of the very best Grand Tour cyclists in the world is a tremendous achievement let alone be one of those in whom a leading-edge team is prepared to invest big time to deliver it race glory in the biggest test of them all.

And to be very clear, Porte does not find himself in the top echelon of this year’s pecking order because of some alignment of the planets that sees rival talent elsewhere at this time.

On last night’s starting line were some of the biggest names road cycling has delivered.

There was three-time winner and Porte’s former team-mate Chris Froome, then there was the controversial but often brilliant Alberto Contador and, of course, the always-ominous Nairo Quintana.

While the French, for so long starved on some real moment to cheer about in their own race, apart from the quirky circumstances in 2014 that even they did not take too seriously, have some genuine hopes in Romain Bardet and Thibaut Pinot.

Fabian Aru provides Italy with hopes of continuing to fly its own tricolour high and along the roads of its next door neighbour.

Finally among the bigger chances there sits the quandary for Australians – the precocious talent of Esteban Chavez.

The Colombian Kangaroo is Aussie outfit Orica-Scott’s first real chance for a win overall in the Tour.

He has endeared himself to many a cycling follower in the land of his team’s ownership.

Porte has had a fine preparation with excellent results in the highly regarded Tour lead-up stage race – the Criterium du Dauphine, and there is no doubt this year that his team BMC rates him its number one priority in the Tour.

But despite the range of talent and experience among his eight teammates, Porte, as always for anyone who eventually dons the maillot jaune, will need good fortune.

And it’s perhaps his time for a share of that.

In the past, thwarted by the likes of that nasty fall in the Olympic road race in Rio last year, that untimely puncture a month before just five kilometres from the finish of stage two of the 2016 Tour or the “illegal” wheel change with fellow Aussie Simon Clarke in the 2015 Giro d’Italia, Porte is surely in line for some luck on his side.

Yet to avoid misfortune completely and allow a rider’s hard work and talent to shine over three full weeks, and 3540 kilometres on some of the toughest stage tests on offer, is a big ask. Especially when contending with the likes of stage nine, Nantua to Chambéry, with its 181km of climb after climb.

Tasmania has been blessed with a passion for participation in cycling for a very long time and no more graphically than in the last decade has that blossomed through a plethora of men and women who have risen to be world class.

Tasmanians follow their exploits with equal gusto – perhaps never more so than they will over the next 21 days.