168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Critérium du Dauphiné race director Bernard Thévenet pulled off something of a coup in plotting out the route of the 16.4-kilometre 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:stage 4 time trial in the steep hills of theꦺ Forez region close to✱ Saint-Étienne.

168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Ineos Grenadiers team leader Geraint Thomas described the test as 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:one of the most taxing that he's tackled in his career. Meanwhile, his Australian teammate 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Richie Porte couldn't say what kind of rider it suited after he came throꦦugh with the quickest ride of the day♕, at the time, and was eventually good enough for sixth place behind winner Alexey Lutsenko (Astana-Premier Tech).

"I don't really know who it was for, to be honest. It was such a hard course to get into a rhythm, but I guess my form is pretty good," Porte said at the finish line. "I'm happy with that. The course was horrible. It's such a hard time trial. I'm not confident that my time will stand as the best, but all things considered it's not👍 a bad ride🅠."

Asked if he'd got the pacing of the course spot on, Porte admitted that he couldn't gauge it accurately, but did say &n🍃dash; like Thomas – that his l🅘egs felt empty during the tougher second part of the stage.

"I don't know if I nailed it. I think I was good in the first half. But the second half I had nothing in my legs," he said. "It was just a case of trying to stay as aero as possibleꦗ on the climbs 🥂and I guess use my power-to-weight to my advantage."

When the final riders had slogged their way to th♑e top of the final hill, a small group of enthusiastic fans greeting their arrival with long blasts on air horns, Porte's ride put him in seventh place on GC, 16 seconds back on leader Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe).

More importantly, the Australian is just seven seconds behind the first of the likely GC contenders, Astana-Premier Tech's Ion Izagirre, who is tied for third i✃n the overall with Kasper Asgreen (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep. Thomas is just one place and eight seconds behind him.

Would this lꦕead to a change in the Ineos hierarchy, Porte was asked?

"Geraint's the leader," he said. "I think h𝕴e's happy for me to be up there. But, looking at the weekend, it's going to be all hands on deck I think and Geraint's the one with the runs on the board."

Porte, though, appears to be in the form that saw him finish second in Catalunya back in March behind teammate Adam Yates and second in Romandie a month ago behind Thomas. Coming after his third place at the Tour de France last seaso💟n, what could arguably be the mo🦋st consistently good run of form during his career looks highly likely to continue for Porte.