Team BMC has reflected on a disappointing Tour de France and pledged to return with the same goal of trying to get Richie Porte on the podium in 2018.
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The Launceston rider’s sickening crash on stage 9 cost the team its leader and prompted a huge refocus, but while the remaining eight riders were unable to secure a stage win they crossed the iconic finish line on the Champs-Élysées in Paris with mixed emotions.
Damiano Caruso was the team's top finisher in 11th on the general classification after stepping up to the role of leader following Porte’s abandonment with a broken pelvis and collarbone.
"For sure, 11th on the general classification is a good result for me,” said the experienced Italian.
“For the team, we will come next year with even more ambition with Richie Porte again to do our best result."
Sports director Fabio Baldato said the huge setback would provide additional motivation for next season.
"We came to the Tour de France to put Richie Porte on the podium,” he said.
“Of course when Richie crashed it was a terrible moment for the team. But with two weeks still to come, we had to sit down, refocus and set new goals.
“We tried really hard for a stage win but didn't quite get there. I think we can be proud of the way we picked ourselves up and now we will return even more motivated in 2018."
Swiss rider Stefan Küng praised the team spirit in the wake of Porte’s accident on the Mont du Chat descent near Chambery while Alessandro De Marchi admitted it had been “a Tour de France with a lot of ups and downs”.
“We missed the big goal, we missed Richie, but I think we showed in the end that we were ready,” said the Italian. “Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose."
Frenchman Amaël Moinard said before the crash it had been an “almost perfect” race for the American-owned Swiss-sponsored team.
Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet, who went on to win a gold medal following another Porte crash at last year’s Olympic Games in Rio, was disappointed he couldn’t again cash in with a stage win while Irishman Nicolas Roche said he had enjoyed reuniting with Porte having also been teammates at Sky.
"I formatted my year to be here with Richie Porte so of course it was a big blow when we lost him,” said Roche, who was a key domestique for the 32-year-old Tasmanian in the mountains.
“But we tried, I tried, to go in the breakaways and be aggressive and to show that BMC is one of the best teams in the world and we were still in the race. We lost Richie but there were still two weeks to go. We didn't get the results we wanted but at least we gave it a proper go."
Porte has spent the last two weeks recovering from his injuries in Monaco.