‘I will definitely miss him’ - Chris Froome pays tribute to ‘good friend’ Richie Porte ahead of his retirement

Chris Froome has paid tribute to his “good friend” Richie Porte who will retire from cycling after the Tour of Britain. Porte played a big role during Froome’s 2013 and 2015 Tour de France victories in a super domestique role as Team Sky dominated the race. Ad The 37-year-old also won Paris-Nice and the Tour de Suisse during his 13-year career which will come to an end next Sunday.

Vuelta a EspañaForget GC challenge, Froome can claim 'enormous victory' with a stage win — McEwen27/08/2022 AT 15:35 “It's going to be quite sad not seeing Richie in the peloton anymore,” Froome told Eurosport ahead of Stage 14 at La Vuelta. “He's been such a big part of the Grand Tours, especially over the last decade. “For me personally, he was an amazing team-mate to me through all the big tours that I was winning.

“But more than that he's a good friend as well. Just a good person, always says exactly how he's feeling. “You know where you stand with Richie and I will definitely miss seeing him around in the peloton.” After numerous near misses, crashes and misfortune, Porte finally recorded his first Grand Tour podium at the 2020 Tour de France with Trek Segafredo.

He returned to Ineos Grenadiers, which was previously Team Sky, in 2021 and won the Criterium du Dauphine. However, a crash on a chaotic opening day and another accident on Stage 9 saw him drop out of contention for the overall victory. La Vuelta Stage 14 LIVE: Will Evenepoel crack on summit finish? Opinion: The five riders with a point to prove this weekend in La Vuelta Did Roglic miss a chance to gain time on Evenepoel? Illness forced Porte to abandon this year’s Giro d’Italia with two stages to go which was his last Grand Tour.