Richie Porte said he is already looking ahead to 2019 after a third successive season hit the buffers.
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The 33-year-old Launceston rider was doing his best to stay upbeat despite being forced to withdraw from the 258.5km world championship road race on a course he said was “tailor-made” for his climbing credentials.
The withdrawal follows Porte crashing out of the Tour de France for the second year in a row having also suffered a bone-shattering end to his 2016 Olympic campaign.
“I’m really disappointed to miss the road race,” Porte said from Europe.
“It was a big goal for me at the end of the season and I had been training and racing with the road race in mind.
“However, recent illness means my preparation has been far from ideal and for a race of this difficulty, with more than 4600 metres of climbing, you need to have the best preparation possible to be up there.
“Within the Cycling Australia team, we have decided that it is in the team's best interests if my place goes to someone else. I wish the whole Aussie team the best and will be cheering them on from home.”
Since leaving the Tour de France in an ambulance on stage 9, the BMC team leader had recovered from a broken collarbone and used the Vuelta a Espana to regain form, finishing his 13th Grand Tour in 84th place.
However, he developed an upper respiratory infection in the final week in Spain and felt withdrawing from the world titles in Innsbruck, Austria, was best for an Australian team that had been selected to support him.
Porte will resume training next week and is still expected to contest next month’s Tour of Guangxi in China.