Richie Porte wasted little time finding his climbing legs on his long-awaited return to competition.
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The Launceston 35-year-old was heavily involved in the business end of the key stage of his first race back since the coronavirus-enforced break.
Porte finished seventh in the decisive penultimate stage of the Route d'Occitanie in southern France.
He was 1 minute 11 seconds behind stage winner and reigning Tour de France champion Egan Bernal (4:36:44), of Team INEOS, who also assumed overall race leadership.
Porte's Trek-Segafredo teammate Bauke Mollema finished six seconds ahead of him. The Dutchman (+1:05) and Porte (+1:11) sit fifth and seventh respectively on general classification with a fairly flat 195km final stage remaining.
Teammate Will Clarke, of Campbell Town, finished the 163.5km stage 88th and sits 108th overall.
Porte is scheduled to ride the one-day 179km Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge on Thursday, followed immediately by the three-stage Tour de l'Ain, both also in France.
He will spend the rest of August preparing for what will be his 10th Tour de France.
Mollema has a similar program and is expected to share team leadership in Le Tour.
"Nice to race again finally, that in itself feels like a small victory," Porte posted on Instagram earlier this week from the Route d'Occitanie.
Rob Shaw
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
