The Launceston rider lost 35 seconds to his main rival Chris Froome on a perfect day for Team Sky in Germany.

Froome’s teammate and fellow Brit Geraint Thomas won the 14-kilometre individual time trial in Dusseldorf in a time of 16.04.

Froome was sixth, 12 seconds behind, and Porte 49^th, 47 seconds down but still ahead of overall rivals Nairo Quintana (one second), Dan Martin (two seconds) and Romain Bardet (four seconds).

On a treacherous day when another general classification contender, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), suffered a season-ending crash and Porte’s teammate Nicolas Roche also went down, the BMC team leader was happy to survive. 

"Keep it rubber side down was probably more the goal,” the 32-year-old said.

“I followed Nicolas Roche in the car just before my start and he binned it, so I was petrified to be honest.

“It was such a slippery course. I would have liked to have done a quicker time but the main thing is to have kept all of my skin.

“I was a little bit nervous, especially after watching your teammate crash. At the end of the day, I took no risks and I think that was the way to ride it out there today.

“Back at the hotel it looked like it might dry up a bit but it wasn't to be. It was the same conditions for everybody so it all works out fair in the end.

"I felt great but I don't think it's meant to feel good. I went super cautious in the corners. 

"I feel a little bit disappointed but the main thing is to come through without crashing. It was slippery out there, I expected a little more but we'll see what happens on GC."

Team sport director Fabio Baldato added: “We are happy. Richie is safe and close to all of the other GC guys."

As Team Sky celebrated landing four riders in the top eight, Porte had the consolation of seeing his BMC teammate Stefan Küng claim second place. Wearing his Swiss national time trial champion skinsuit for the first time, the 23-year-old also claimed the best young rider jersey.