Indulge me for a moment. The 2014 Tour de France is coming to a thrilling climax…
We are on Mont Ventoux and the two Simons, Gerrans and Clarke have already swung aside having done the early work for Orica-GreenEdge. With two kilometres to go Cameron Meyer gives one last effort before he too falls away, completely spent.
Cadel Evans, resplendent in his Orica-GreenEdge jersey, glances quickly over his shoulder, checking on the welfare of his team leader, Richie Porte. Porte gives him a nod and Evans grinds on, head tilted slightly to the side, bike rocking beneath him as he stands on the pedals for a final surge. Porte spins smoothly in his wake.
Contador is in trouble. His ragged breathing can almost be heard above the rabid cheering of the fans. A gap opens and he is unable to close it.
Porte’s wheel disappears amongst the spectators ahead, and Froome, caught behind Contador, tries desperately to get past. But the awkward Brit only manages to get alongside the Spaniard before his legs give way and he slumps heavily back onto the saddle and hangs his head. His race is over.
A kilometre to go now and Evans, who has worked tirelessly all Tour for Porte, pulls aside. Red faced and with sweat dripping from his nose, he shouts encouragement as Porte spins by. GO GO GO GO!
And now it is just Porte. The gendarmes on their motorcycles attempt to clear the way ahead of the Tasmanian as all Australia holds its breath. Flags dangle in his face, bottles of water are tipped over him and spectators threaten to become entangled in his spokes. But he survives.
500 metres to go and the spectators are now contained by roadside barriers. 200 metres to go and Porte risks a look behind. No one is following. 100 metres to go and Porte is smiling. 50 metres to go and he raises one fist and thumps his handlebars with delight.
30 metres, 20 metres, 10 metres. The crowd roars!
Porte collapses as he crosses the line and photographers clamour to capture images of the Tour’s new leader.
Fantasy? Yes, but the time will come when Orica-GreenEdge will sum up their future aspirations with just two words – general classification. Gone will be the days when an opportunistic victory here or there satisfies their thirst. They will begin to yearn for greater glory.
While their debut season was scattered with success, with Milan-San Remo the sparkling pinnacle, their assault on the grand tours fizzled into what was little more than a learning experience.
A stage win by Goss at the Giro couldn’t be replicated at the Tour, and remained our only grand tour highlight until Simon Clarke took his first pro win in the clouds atop the Estacion de Valdezcarey on stage four of the Vuelta.
While it is true that Gerrans claimed the overall at the Tour Down Under and Albasini had a weather assisted victory at the week long Volta a Catalunya, the team will ultimately be judged by its performances at grand tours, especially by those on the periphery of the sport.
Australia’s sporting public are not patient. They will forgive one year of lacklustre grand tour results, perhaps two, but rest assured there will be rumblings of discontent if Orica-GreenEdge fails to make an impact three years down the track.
But there is a solution. Nothing would rouse home support for the team like a good GC performance by a home grown team leader at the Tour de France.
But good GC riders don’t grow on trees and there is no one currently on the Orica-GreenEdge roster who can seriously threaten the big boys when it comes to overall victory in a three week race. Spirited performances by Cameron Meyer at the Vuelta and earlier in the year at Tirreno-Adriatico underlined his potential, but the youngster can not be considered to be a true GC contender.
So what can Orica-GreenEdge do to assert their authority on grand tours?
The obvious solution is to recruit a GC rider from a rival team. The rider who ticks all the boxes and looks to be the best fit is Richie Porte. He climbs strongly, holds his own in individual time trials and is now an experienced grand tour rider.
He is younger than both Evans and Rogers, has served an impressive apprenticeship under the leadership of Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome, and deserves to be a leader in his own right.
Of course, Porte burst to prominence when, after getting into a large breakaway midway through the 2010 Giro d’Italia, he found himself in the Maglia Rosa for three days, before eventually finishing seventh overall and walking away with the best young rider’s jersey. Not bad for a neo-pro!
Last year he worked for Contador at both the Giro and the Tour, before transferring from SaxoBank-Sungard to Team Sky. He has now ridden five grand tours, finishing them all.
He is the type of rider that Orica-GreenEdge could build a team around. Meyer, Gerrans and Clarke would supply fair support for Porte in the hills, but the addition of another strong climber would ice the cake. Perhaps Evans could be persuaded to come ‘home’ for a season at the completion of his contract at BMC?
Of course, this is all wishful thinking, but with Porte’s contract also due to expire within the next couple of years, it would be foolish of Orica-GreenEdge not to consider him. If I were Gerry Ryan I’d have the cheque-book open.
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