After finishing 3rd in his national championships, Richie Porte (Sky) came into the Tour Down Under with hopes of taking the overall win. After losing out to Cadel Evans (BMC) on the Corkscrew climb, however, he had to settle for 4th but a win in yesterday's queen stage made it a good week for the Australian.

Richie Porte confirmed a fine fourth place overall on the final stage as the Tour Down Under came to a close in Adelaide. The Tasmanian was protected by his Team Sky team-mates a day after his heroics on Willunga Hill and ended the first WorldTour race of the year just 10 seconds back on victor Simon Gerrans.

Geraint Thomas completed a solid showing for the team, jumping a place to eighth overall after helping to guide Porte to the line with Bernhard Eisel during a nervy finale.

Porte had shown great form when he finished 3rd at the Australian national championships and had hoped that he would be strong enough to win the opening WorldTour race of the season. However, he lost time in a split on stage 1 and was dropped by Cadel Evans on the Corkscrew Climb on stage 3.

Unlike rivals like Evans, eventual winner Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEDGE) and Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida) he was also unable to pick up any bonus seconds before his win in yesterday's queen stage and this saw him end in 4th, 5 seconds shy of the overall podium.

Despite not reaching his pre-race target, he remained happy with the result.

"Obviously it would have been nice to be on the podium," he told Sky Sports, "But to win on the Willunga stage yesterday with that crowd was consolation for just missing out. It's been a good week and the team's been incredible. I think we're pretty happy with how it all went.

"I got a little bit of a thumping from Cadel on the Corkscrew stage but I knew I was a bit out of position coming into that climb," he added. "Yesterday Ian Stannard dropped me third wheel and pulled the bunch to pieces. Things like that turn the tables and it was a massive day up there. Something I'll never forget."
 

Porte had lots of praise for race winner Gerrans.

"Simon showed he is pretty quick – I mean, he won a bunch sprint here, too," he said. It's always going to be hard to beat him here and he had a great team around him as well.

"I think he deserves the win. [Gerrans] fought hard, and Cadel winning a stage as well and me winning a stage, I guess it showed the three guys on the [nationals] podium there in Ballarat were here to fight," he added, referring to the top 3 of the Australian Nationals road race.

Porte's main goal this year is the Giro d'Italia and he is happy with his condition at this time of the year. Having seen Evans close up this week, he expects the 2011 Tour champion to be up there in Italian Dolomites.

"I think we're going to see Cadel Evans back to his best," he said. "There's a few more guys that are coming but I'm happy with where I am. I haven't really started training properly and to come away with fourth position and a stage win is more than I'd have thought possible six weeks ago."
 

Porte is gradually learning the trade of being a general classification contender and said that his past experiences were of importance during this week's racing.

"Something I learned last year in Paris-Nice is to stay at the front," he said. "That is where the race is going to be won. It is the same this week. I lost a four-second gap just because someone let the wheel go in a sprint. But the rest of the time I have been up there.

"It does do good thing to your confidence to ride with a good, strong team like this and an experienced team too," he added. "Bring on May."

The final stage was a fast criterium where it was all about staying safe for Team Sky.

After stepping off the bike Thomas described a tough afternoon’s work to Sky Sports, saying:

“It was right in the city centre so there was no breeze. It was really hot, fast and furious on narrow roads with lots of corners. It was a big stress the whole day and it felt like we were just bumping shoulders with each other for two hours.

Despite the tough nature of the criterium, the Welshman was happy to see the team open their account for the season and claim a good finish overall.

“It’s a solid start,” he continued. “Richie was fourth, I was top 10 on GC. The win yesterday was something that we came here for. The training we’ve done prior to here, plus this race, I think has set up us really well for the rest of the year.”

After the race Sports Director Kurt-Asle Arvesen summed up the race, admitting:

"We were hoping to win the race. That was our goal, but we didn't make mistakes here - we just met some stronger riders. Richie showed that he was right up there. If he'd had a little bit extra on the Corkscrew he could have won the race. That's how it goes.

"On some stages we had a little bit of bad luck with some gaps. G [Thomas] was behind the crash in Stirling. That would have been a good stage for him. Luke [Rowe] crashed and also broke a spoke the other day. But two guys in the top 10 is not bad.

"Yesterday's queen stage was phenomenal. Richie arrived solo in front of so many spectators and that was a really nice moment for the team."