Richie Porte says winning feeling at Team Sky is 'infectious' ahead of Paris-Nice
Last Updated: 06/03/15 2:48pm
Richie Porte has described the winning mentality spreading through Team Sky as "infectious" ahead of his bid for overall victory at Paris-Nice, which starts on Sunday.
The British squad are looking to add to their impressive haul of nine wins so far this season at the eight-day race.
Porte is set to start as co-leader of Team Sky along with Geraint Thomas, whom he helped take overall victory at the Volta ao Algarve last month.
Porte won Paris-Nice in 2013 on a similar route to this year and would consequently appear the strongest candidate of the two for the yellow jersey, but he is adamant that as long as a Team Sky rider wins, no one is too bothered about who it is.
He told teamsky.com: "I think everyone in our team is so happy to see others doing well. It’s infectious. If we can keep winning races it doesn’t matter who it is. We have great morale and everybody is fresh.
"Obviously Geraint is coming off an awesome win in Algarve. He and I have a target in the general classification and we are both really motivated."
This year’s Paris-Nice starts with a prologue time trial and three flat stages that could be hampered by crosswinds, before heading to the mountains and then ending with an uphill time trial on Col d’Eze.
Both the climbs and time trials suit Porte, who won on Col d’Eze to seal overall victory two tears ago.
He added: "If I look at it, it’s much the same parcours as 2013, when I won it. I know there are some really hard days towards the finale, but it’s Paris-Nice and you don’t want to be caught napping in those first few days either.
"You have to expect the unexpected. But with the experience and the horsepower that we have, I think a lot of guys will be looking at our team. We have got different cards that we can play for every situation."
