Porte's team to guard against setbacks
Jan 18, 2017 - 8:43 AM No one knows better than Rohan Dennis that Richie Porte's Tour Down Under lead needs careful protection.Just like his BMC teammate and compatriot achieved on Wednesday, Dennis took the Tour lead two years ago with a big attack on the Paracombe climb.
Porte was fifth overall, 15 seconds behind Dennis, and then on the rival Sky team heading into the decisive second-last stage at Willunga.
Dennis had the fright of his life, as Porte won the Willunga stage with an outstanding ride and reduced the margin to just two seconds.
Asked if there was any risk of complacency at BMC, now that Porte had the overall lead this year, Dennis replied: "totally the opposite".
"I nearly lost it on Willunga ... anything can happen still and he could have bad luck at any point.
"We have to be ready to make sure that doesn't hinder his chances of winning."
On Wednesday, it was Dennis' turn to have bad luck, when he suffered a puncture inside the last 20km.
But he recovered to finish an impressive fourth to be seventh overall.
Top Australian team Orica-Scott have their star Colombian Esteban Chaves at third overall.
Chaves is 22 seconds behind Porte and second-placed Spaniard Gorka Izaguirre is 20 seconds off the pace.
Orica-Scott's four-time Tour winner Simon Gerrans finished 38th at Paracombe, 58 seconds off the pace.
Team director Matt White said before the Tour that Porte was the rider to beat.
Asked if Wednesday's triumph was just reward for Porte, White sarcastically replied: "It's really nice for him, isn't it?
"We are trying to beat him, aren't we?
"But yeah, good on him. He was the best guy today and deserves everything he gets."
Source: AAP
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