Richie Porte finished down in 17th in today's world championships time trial and was never a genuine medal contender. While the result was a disappointment for the Australian, he is now looking forward to leading the Australian team in the road race on a course that suits him much better.

Richie Porte was never one of the pre-race favourites for today's world championships time trial but the Australian has shown time after time that he is a rider to look out for in the race against the clock. However, he was nowhere near the best in the battle for the rainbow jersey and finished a modest 17th on the 57,9km course in Florence.

The course was almost completely flat and designed to suit the powerful specialists, not a versatile climber like Porte. Nonetheless, the Australian proved in both the Tour de Romandie, Criterium du Dauphiné and the Tour de France that he is a danger man even on flat routes.

He never got the chance to show his best form during today's ride and dropped down the rankings from time check to time check. While he knew that he was unlikely to match the giants Tony Martin, Fabian Cancellara and Bradley Wiggins, he couldn't hide his disappointment when he warmed down on the rollers after the race and is now trying to refocus on Sunday's road race.

"It's not that I had a bad ride," he told CyclingQuotes. "But I was a long way off the podium. Certainly, I've had better time trials. It's a long day. It's at the end of the season and sometimes it's nice to get a long time trial in like that. Certainly, it wasn't what I was looking for but come Sunday it's a different race again so I am looking forward to that one."

On Sunday, he will line up as part of a strong Australian team that can also count on Cadel Evans, Rohan Dennis, Simon Clarke, Mathew Hayman, Michael Matthews, Cameron Meyer, Rory Sutherland and David Tanner. The very hilly course is expected to suit climbers like him, and the Australian harbours certain ambitions for the race. With Simon Gerrans having ended his season due to a hip fracture, the captaincy role is expected to be shared between Porte and Evans.

Following a successful Tour de France, Porte prepared his Wolds campaign in North America where he rode the USA Pro Challenge and the Canadian WorldTour races. He crashed out of the final race in Montreal but confirmed that he doesn't suffer any bad effects from his tumble.

Appearing a bit uncertain over his form, he doesn't expect his Australian team to be the main animators come Sunday.

"I don't know if I'm confident but certainly it's a course that suits me much better than this one did," he said. "I am looking forward to it. There's no pressure on the Aussies here. There are other teams that have to make the race. We just have to see how it goes. Cadel is in good form as well. It's a shame that Simon Gerrans isn't here because it's a good course for him. Bring on Sunday."

Porte also explained his plans for 2014. You can read more about that in a later article.