Le Tour sails past Porte, but his effort is no shipwreck

It took two days in the Alps to crush Richie Porte’s ambitions at this year’s Tour de France, slipping from second to 16th and over 16 minutes adrift from race leader Vincenzo Nibali.

This concluded a rapid change of commands from his bosses at Team Sky from: “Support the Team Leader”, to “You’re the Team Leader”, to now, “We’ll try for stage wins”.

After churning through 197.5km on Stage 13 and losing so much time he knew his chances had perished, he rolled over the finish line toward a team supporter. The media contingent gathered but he was given some reprieve as he had to get on the rollers to warm down. How tantalising that must be after such a stage, one can only imagine.

But when confronted and queried, Richie Porte shone. No tantrums or snide remarks, no excuses. A smile and: “it’s one of those things, a massive shame”.

“But I feel more for my teammates who have been brilliant for me every day”.

His phenomenal natural talent and prodigious work ethic were matched by self effacing magnanimity.

In this tour, when it comes to being eclipsed by Vincenzo Nibali, Richie Porte has a lot of company. Nibali is peerless and the other contenders are merely scrambling for crumbs at the king’s table. The Italian is determined to improve on his third place in his last Tour de France in 2012 (finishing behind Wiggins and Froome) and to become only the sixth man to win all three Grand Tours.

Only a calamity could prevent this currently; even given the refreshing unpredictability of this tour.

While the stage winners provide vivid memories each day, this Tour has been just as notable for those who have crashed out and withdrawn. Sure you come to expect the exultation of the winner – arms in the air, gleaming quads, tear in the eye and a bulge in the groin. But the rich fabric of this edition has also been in the loss of Froome, Contador, and Schleck and 24 other riders (so far).

Andrew Talansky, after being brutalised by crashes, fell into that lonely place off the back end of the peloton on Stage 11 and cycled home alone.

Isolated. Quiet. Just your own thoughts. By that time, tyres seem to melt into the bitumen.

Any claps from spectators who have hung around sound more like grieving than believing.

Every turn of the crank is rewarded with an insult of propulsive force. Everything hurts, from your toes to your eyeballs. But Talansky defied the pain and pointlessness to finish the stage. He would abandon – a term that seems so pejorative – the next day, but not without solace.

Then there was the Cofidis Team’s Daniel Navarro. After completing 100km of the 13th stage he looked unwell. Very unwell. Long since left by the main group, and with 95km to go, he was being shadowed by his team car.

He weaved over the road, struggled to peddle some more, then stopped and unclipped. His face was drained of colour and he gingerly tried to stand up. Then, while leaning against a team supporter it looked like he convulsed, but as cameras focussed, it was more tears than a seizure. Even getting into the team car he grimaced.

This from professionals, most of whom have ridden their entire lives, and prepare for this event to the nth degree. It is an epic effort to even make the starting line or even finish the three week odyssey. To scale the rungs to be a contender, have it crash down around you and then pick up all your broken losses with a smile – that’s a true rarity.