Porte called time on his illustrious career last September, but it so easily could have ended two years earlier whilst in the harsh confinements of a European lockdown.
“During the COVID-19 lockdown – we had a pretty hard lockdown there in Europe – that was when I kind of made that decision,” Porte explained in the latest episode of the Zwift SBS Cycling Podcast.
“At that time, when I was with Trek-Segafredo in 2020, I was ready to retire. That was it. I had just won the Tour Down Under and things were going well – and then COVID-19 hit. I was ready to stop.
“Thankfully, once everything got going again, I kept going because I went on to get my podium. Of course, I would finish my contract with Trek, but then I got to go back with Team Ineos (formerly, Sky) to finish my career.”
What proceeded Porte’s decision to continue cycling was a crowning achievement at the 2020 Tour de France, where the Australian finished third overall behind Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) and young phenom Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates).
At that time, only Cadel Evans – winner of the 2011 Tour de France – had achieved a better result by an Australian at a Grand Tour, and that was something Porte used to motivate him on his mission to Paris.
Evans was one of several Australian riders tying the nation to cycling’s most prestigious event, many of whom Porte grew up watching with wide eyes and in the hope of replicating.
All those emotions came back to Porte upon crossing the line on Stage 21, but they didn’t truly hit home until right before the official ceremony on the Champs-Elysées.
“I grew up watching the Stuart O’Gradys, the Bradley McGees, Robbie McEwen, and Cadel when I was actually in Europe as well,” he said.
“You watch those guys, like Lance Armstrong… (their achievements) are really what got a lot of people’s attention. So, to have finally gotten the podium there was an amazing feeling.
“When I crossed the line in Paris and went to the ceremony tent to get changed… it was quite an emotional moment. I missed the birth of my daughter to get onto that podium in 2020, so it was quite a monumental decision to be there.
“I think just that backstage memory of finally getting on that podium was probably the sweetest moment for me as a professional cyclist.”
“The other race that meant a lot to me was the Criterium du Dauphine, and that was probably one of the best wins of my career,” he added.
“That was in 2021 so to win that at 36, that was kind of the moment I realised that I’d achieved what I’d set out to do.”
Having his hands held high above the Dauphine’s famous yellow jersey was the final piece of a palmares that also includes two Paris-Nice victories, one at the Tour de Romandie, one at the Volta a Catalunya, another at the Tour de Suisse and two overall wins at the Tour Down Under.
An incredible career to say the least, but one Porte can now finally look back on with his family in Launceston, Tasmania.
“I think that’s one of the nicest things about being retired,” he said.
“Those races like the Paris-Nice or Volta a Catalunya, not that I watch them, but when you read the reports – because that’s about the extent I’ve followed cycling in the last couple of months – it was one of those things you took for granted at the time.
“If you won Paris-Nice, you’d roll on to Catalunya, then you’d roll on to Romandie – you never really got the time to sit back and appreciate it.
“I think to have finally gotten that podium place in the Tour, that was your lifetime goal, really, to go over and achieve something like that.
“It is nice to be back here and, from afar, sort of soak it up a little bit which I wasn’t really able to do in the last 15 years.”
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Porte's podium 'such a journey'
