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Porte motivated for top result at Tour Down Under

By Cycling News

published 3 January 2017

Australian leads BMC Racing in WorldTour opener

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Richie Porte (BMC Racing)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)

Damiano Caruso (BMC Racing Team) also makes his Olympic debut in Rio(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)

Australian Miles Scotson is another new signing for BMC in 2017(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)

Australians Richie Porte and Rohan Dennis (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)

Richie Porte has not raced since crashing out of the Olympic Games road race with a fractured scapula, but the BMC rider is fit and ready to lead his team to a top result in the Tour Down Under this month.

Olympic injury update: Fractured iliac crest for Henao, Porte suffers fractured shoulder

Olympic Games: No surgery but Porte faces lengthy layoff

Porte set to make 2017 debut at Tour Down Under

Peiper confident that Porte can win the Tour de France

The runner-up in the last two editions of the Tour Down Under, Porte has his eye on the Willunga Hill stage, where he has tasted success many times in his career.

"I've won on Willunga Hill on three occasions, so why not go for the fourth? The atmosphere on Willunga Hill is as good as any race in Europe, so I'm excited to get back there and test my legs," Porte said in a press release.

Porte has a big season ahead of him, having been named as BMC Racing's leader for the Tour de France, and hopes to get it started with strong results.

"I love racing in Adelaide and having already been on the podium twice, I'd like to start the year with a good result at the Santos Tour Down Under and hopefully go one better. I've had a particularly long off-season since Rio so I'm ready to get back to racing. I have a strong team by my side and as an Australian it's great to have all of the support from fans," Porte said.