Richie Porte has set himself the goal of finishing his lengthy pro cycling career with a win in his final race.
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After 15 years in the saddle, including 13 at the elite WorldTour level, 17 Grand Tours and 33 race wins, the Tasmanian veteran is set to retire at the end of this season.
He finished his Grand Tour record with an emotional enforced departure from stage 19 of the Grio d'Italia in May but has since set his sights on his final race: the Tour of Britain in September.
"People say to me 'yeah but you never won a Grand Tour' and maybe I didn't but for me, and from where it all started to win some of the races I have, has just been incredible," he said.
"And to have ridden in some of the teams that I have, it has been an awesome journey but I'd still like to win a race, or even a stage, and the Tour of Britain should be my last race. My wife's English and it would be nice to go there and try and do something."
Porte is already confirmed in the INEOS Grenadiers team for the tour of Britain which begins in Aberdeen on September 4 and finishes on the Isle of Wight on September 11.
Speaking on the Bobby and Jens podcast with long-time friends Bobby Julich and Jens Voigt, the 37-year-old father-of-two relived his final Grand Tour moment and how it made him reflect on his career journey.
"When I got gastro in the Giro and it was pretty obvious that I wasn't going to finish the stage I said 'guys, I'm not going to make it' and (INEOS sport director) Roger Hammond said 'right, just ride for five minutes, take it all in and when you're ready to stop, then stop'. And I cried. I burst into tears.
"You think back to borrowing money off your parents to fly over to Europe and chase that dream, all the people that have helped you and the time you spend away from your wife and kids.
"So it would be nice to have one last win ... that's the reason I'm training again now and I'm motivated to try and do that."
Doing an ironman triathlon just does not excite me, I think I'd prefer to drop my kids at school, read the newspaper and walk a couple of dogs. I'm so looking forward to that normal life after this.
- Richie Porte
In an emotional reflection of his eventful career, from Andrew Christie-Johnson's Praties outfit to world-leading teams like Saxobank, Sky and BMC, Porte reminisced about his highest-profile moments.
Recalling riding with some of the biggest names in the sport, including Bradley Wiggins, Fabian Cancellara, Chris Froome and Alberto Contador, Porte said his proudest achievement was overcoming an untimely puncture on a gravel road to stay in contention and ultimately finish on the Tour de France podium in 2020.
"That's probably, for me, the day when I thought 'that was a pretty awesome ride'. I was quite happy with myself after that effort," he said.
The Launceston-born rider also shed light on the infamous collision with the back of a television motorbike as he, Froome and Bauke Mollema broke away on Mont Ventoux amid chaotic scenes on Bastille Day in the 2016 Tour.
"I didn't even have the chance to brake, I just smashed into the back of it," Porte recalled, laughing.
"It was like being in primary school, stacks on with Froomey and Mollema and I on the ground. It was like something out of a dream and unbelievable that something like that could happen, and then you see Froomey running in sheer desperation.
"But I also remember that the crowd were not big Chris Froome fans so it was kind of scary as a mate of Chris Froome that he's there at their mercy and as I went past him he said to me: 'This is not right'.
"When I got to the finish line it sunk in: 'What just happened?' It was so surreal, even to this day.
"I used to ride with a pendant in a map of Tasmania around my neck that my Mum got from a friend of mine who's a jeweller down in Tassie, that actually stabbed into my chest and I've still got the scar where that cut the hell out of me."
Porte said, in the aftermath of the Lance Armstrong revelations when there was such distrust of cyclists, such hostility was not unusual.
"There have been times, particularly on Alpe d'Huez when it wasn't safe, as a Sky rider. I remember as a Sky rider being punched in the ribs and stuff like that. And that day on Ventoux, it was hostile towards Froomey, it really was."
Politely side-stepping self-described "crazy German" Voigt's suggestion of attempting the one-hour time trial world record, Monaco-based Porte said he was desperately looking forward to retirement and normality.
He also confirmed that would be in his home state.
"Instead of being that angry little Tasmanian I find myself now being a fan and being happy seeing other people doing well," he said.
"I'm so happy to see Jai Hindley win the Giro. Yes my teammate's Richard Carapaz and he's a good guy but it's just nice to see your fellow countrymen do well. When you get older you're just not as angry or competitive.
"Doing an ironman triathlon just does not excite me, I think I'd prefer to drop my kids at school, read the newspaper and walk a couple of dogs. I'm so looking forward to that normal life after this.
"My wife's British but probably more keen than I am to go back to Tassie so part of our future is to go back there to the other end of the world and hopefully come off all social media and have a very normal life, I can't wait."