Rampant Porte targets podium finish in Paris (Reuters)
By Julien Pretot MEGEVE, France (Reuters) – After a catastrophic start to the Tour de France, Australian Richie Porte is on the rampage and a strong performance in Thursday’s time trial further strengthened his podium credentials. Porte, who was Chris Froome’s lieutenant at Team Sky until moving to BMC during the close season, lost 1:45 in the second stage after suffering a puncture in the finale and was offered no support from his team mates. “It’s hard not to think about the second stage and the time we threw away,” said Porte after taking fourth place in Thursday’s 18th stage, 33 seconds behind leader Froome but gaining time on the podium contenders.