New Australian cycling star Richie Porte is already showing the benefits of the year he had to have.
Porte, who turns 27 later this month, won the bronze medal in Sunday’s outstanding road race at the national championships behind winner Simon Gerrans and Matt Lloyd.
He will be high among the favourites for the individual time trial on Tuesday at Learmonth, near Ballarat.
But apart from his strong early-season form, Porte is noticeably more relaxed compared to this time last year.
Then, he was dealing with the hype of his breakout 2010 season, where he led the Tour of Italy for three days before his stunning seventh placing overall.
Everyone wanted to know what he would do next and there had been speculation that he would break his contract with Saxo Bank and go to the Sky team.
Porte spent another season under team boss Bjarne Riis and Brad McGee at Saxo Bank before signing with Sky.
Unlike 2010, Porte had a lower profile last year as he worked for team leader Alberto Contador at the Tour de France and Tour of Italy.
“Just because I finished seventh at the Giro (Tour of Italy), that wasn’t where I was,” Porte said.
“Maybe I have talent, but it was a big luck thing.
“Last year, I’ve said it before, it was a year I had to have.
“I guess I’ve grown up and I’ve learnt that people talk and question you, this and that.”
Porte still had good results, with top-five results in time trials at the Tour de France and Giro.
He also won the time trial stage at the Tour of Denmark and finished sixth in the event at the world championships.
Before the Sky contract was announced, inevitably there was talk that he might sign with new Australian team GreenEDGE.
Certainly the one obvious gap in the GreenEDGE line-up is a general classification rider such as Porte.
But going to GreenEDGE would have made him the main man for the GC, whereas at Sky, he can continue to learn.
“The Sky package was probably the better place for me at this point in my career,” said Porte, who only became a full-time professional in 2010.
Porte also stressed that he appreciates what Saxo Bank did for him.
It was not so much a matter of leaving them, but what he saw on offer at Sky.
Apart from making Sky’s Tour squad under title hopeful Brad Wiggins, Porte wants to ride in the time trial at the Olympics.
He will miss this month’s Tour Down Under in Adelaide to join his new team’s training camp in Mallorca.
But most immediately, he wants a good result on Tuesday in the men’s elite 39km time trial.
Porte is in a strong field that features his Sky team-mate Mick Rogers, defending champion Cam Meyer and Jack Bobridge.
Tuesday is the last day of the nationals, with the women’s and under-23 time trials also on the schedule that starts at 10am.
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