Everybody’s Favorite Tour de France has a helper that makes success possible. The leader Christopher Froome, formerly assistant even still, this time has its own supporters – and takes his job very seriously.

As stated Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? “If you want great, must pull himself together” – for cyclists is paramount. But probably no one else follows this credo as assiduously as the workers in the service of the great. The Briton Christopher Froome wants to be the greatest of this year’s Tour de France, in Paris are at the top of the podium. The one who takes him on the way there again on the shoulder, defended and drives is Richie Porte, Froomes precious helpers in Team Sky.

The Australians will watch the ceremony on the Champs Elysées from a distance, but there should be captain actually stand on the top step, he will know that a little bit of Richie Porte is.

Porte is 28 years old, late, about seven years ago, he was from triathletes to road cyclists. He had skipped the classic Australian Radschule with their talent search, and so it took a few years in the new discipline before professional teams were aware of him. 2009 Porte won the “Baby Giro”, an Italian amateur tour, at the end of the season he was awarded a professional contract with Team Saxo Bank.

Tour de France 2013:”It’s a big sacrifice”

There Porte could get a first time acquainted with his present role, in 2011 he helped the Spaniard Alberto Contador going to win the Tour de France. Contador was found guilty of doping, lost the title, and Porte moved the following year to Sky. The personal assistant team leader Bradley Wiggins at that time was none other than Christopher Froome. In the past year, as Wiggins won the Tour with Froomes help, this does not renounced it, to show the world who’s the best driver in truth.

“It is a great, a very great sacrifice. I can not deny that it is difficult for me,” Froome said at the time to his duties as Wiggins helper. “I know that I can win the Tour., But we have built a strategy around Wiggins. And all of us stick to it.”

In this 100 Tour now it’s Froome, for driving the team, and it is Porte, who took over the job. The difference: The Australian blends his behalf with all the devotion, he never complains about the hardships that this brings with it. Blocking a number of attacks by Contador on his head on the stage on Tuesday at the Col de Manse, Porte said afterwards: “It’s nice to get these attacks on Chris in the handle and make it so a little easier.”

Tour de France 2013:Porte drove on the Mont Ventoux twice in one day

The hierarchy among the peers teammates, Porte is four months older, seems clear. Perhaps because Froome during this tour several times no doubt had in mind that he does not have the role of leader wrongly. And Porte underlined his hand, that he is the right of the page Froomes. Many observers claimed to have seen even a smile on his face after Porte had brought the captain on the Mont Ventoux in Attack Position, it should not have left him even when he as 15 arrived more than two minutes behind Froome at the summit.

But Porte will have been pleased not only with the win of his boss, but also that his tactics had risen. Porte is considered wiser head, someone who wants as little as possible to chance. So he put the 21-kilometer climb up the Mont Ventoux in the Tour Prep twice in one day back, to be sure, where he can compete at the highest effort to attack.

And of course it was Porte, of the second increase Froome again allowed the attack on Alberto Contador on the queen stage to Alpe d’Huez, which certainly led the captain to the finish line by the sea of spectators, rescued him with a forbidden energy bars and for a penalty took into account. Froome knows exactly what he has in his room Porte colleagues. “He’s the second best driver here, when it comes to the overall ranking Would he not help me, he stood on the podium.”

The history of cycling has taught Richie Porte, often those that are the next great ones who have previously practiced in humility. So it was 1996, a young German who had been on his way to his Tour victory at the service of his captain Bjarne Riis and suddenly went in the following year even as the winner to Paris. But that is another story.

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