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Adelaide, Australia – Richie Porte is looking forward to racing with his new team, Trek-Segafredo at the Santos Tour Down Under, kicking off tomorrow with the Down Under Classic: “It’s always nice to start with a new team. I haven’t done a lot of time with the rest of the Trek-Segafredo boys but I know most of the guys and we have a good, solid team here so I think we can hit the ground running in this first race of the year.”
“We have probably one of the strongest teams I’ve ever been in for stages like the last one, to Willunga Hill, with guys like Peter Stetina and Jarlinson Pantano. Besides them, we’ve also got guys like Koen de Kort, who’s one of the most experienced and very good at the cross winds, together with Kiel Reijnen and Ryan Mullen. So, yeah, we’ve got a well-balanced and solid team here and I hope it will continue like that for the rest of the year.”
What do you think of the course of this year’s Santos Tour Down Under?
“I think the course suited me a little better two years ago, but this year it’s also a good, challenging course. It’s just nice to come to Adelaide in January, this race is fantastic. I mean, it’s so well organized and it’s just a great race to start the year.”
The stage to Uraidla counts over a 3000 altitude meters. Can it be more decisive than the Willunga stage?
“Well, it depends on how it’s ridden. We did the recon the other day, it’s a pretty tricky, hard stage. Obviously, we’ll have to wait and see how it is. If it’s a hot day and the peloton doesn’t feel like riding hard, it could also be nothing, but looking at the course, if the proverbial hits the fan, it’s going to be a good fight indeed.”
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