21 April, 2017, Santa Rosa, California (USA)
Richie Porte has his sights set on the General Classification in Switzerland next week when he leads BMC Racing Team’s eight-rider roster at the Tour de Romandie.
Sports Director Fabio Baldato said that the Tour de Romandie is an important race for BMC Racing Team.
“We are heading to Tour de Romandie with Richie Porte as our leader and with a strong and determined team around him. Richie is now beginning the final phase of work before the Tour de France, and this is a real building block ahead of July. Tejay van Garderen will also be able to test himself here before the Giro d’Italia. For both riders, this is an important race for their Grand Tour ambitions this year.”
“With BMC Switzerland our title sponsor, this is a home race for us, and we have the added motivation of having four Swiss riders on our team. It is always good to race on home soil especially for young riders like Tom Bohli. Plus with the experience and knowledge of Danilo Wyss, I’m confident that we can get a good result.”
For Richie Porte, the Tour de Romandie is another important step towards the Tour de France.
“After Paris-Nice, I have had a good block of training at home in Monaco, so now it is important to test my legs in race conditions. The competition is always strong at the Tour of Romandie, so a good result is important.”
“We open with the prologue and end with a time trial that is well-suited to me, and I hope to be up there on every climb as I look towards my big goal this year, the Tour de France. When we get to this point in the season every race day counts,” Porte explained.
Tour de Romandie (April 25 – 30)
Rider Roster: Tom Bohli (SUI), Stefan Küng (SUI), Daniel Oss (ITA), Richie Porte (AUS), Nicolas Roche (IRL), Michael Schär (SUI), Tejay van Garderen (USA), Danilo Wyss (SUI)
Sports Directors: Fabio Baldato (ITA), Yvon Ledanois (FRA)
