The BMC leader spent much of the summer training with his fellow Launcestonian who he believes has the capability to follow his tyre tracks to the WorldTour.

“It’s nice to come back to Tasmania and see that there is a next generation coming through and Zac is a huge talent,” Porte told The Examiner.

“He is 17 and from the training rides I’ve done with him, it’s exciting to see a young guy that can climb like he does. I was really pushing over the Sideling one day and he was staying with me.

“Any kid that rides like he does is going to be competitive with anyone his age.”

Johnson admitted he was flattered by the praise, especially as he is so new to riding, coming 14^th in the under-19 road race and eighth in the time trial at the Australian road championships in Ballarat in January.

“It means so much because just look at the calibre of rider he is,” said the St Patrick’s College Year 12.

“I watch him on TV at all the big races like the Tour de France and then to get to ride with him and do big efforts is a pretty unreal experience.

“I went out about 20 times with him. I remember that Sideling ride – it was pretty much the hardest thing I’ve ever done. You stick to his wheel because it’s Richie. I couldn’t really breathe afterwards, but it did feel great.

“He told me I was a really good rider and he couldn’t do that when he was my age.”

Born in Cairns to English parents including a father who played national rugby league, Johnson moved to Tasmania as a youngster.

Having played a lot of junior soccer he switched sporting focus to cycling and took silver behind TIS Racing teammate Joshua Duffy in the under-19 state time trial at Carrick earlier this month.

Johnson was the first home-state rider to finish the Poatina stage of last year’s Tour of Tasmania – which helped put Porte on the cycling map following his tour-clinching victory on the same climb in 2008.

The two-time Paris-Nice winner said he wants to see cyclists like Johnson given the chance to target road riding and fears Cycling Australia has become blinkered towards its track program.

“It’s a bit worrying that all the focus is on track because in the grand scheme of things track cycling is not the future – road is where the money is,” Porte said. 

“You can make an OK career on the track and that’s how institutes get their funding but for a kid like Zac the future has to be on the road.

“I would never have made any career out of riding on the track and there will always be kids who slip through the cracks.

“There are no real long climbs in Australian races but if he got to Europe would be an exciting prospect. With the talent he has, he can go a long way.”