A change in programme, designed to play to Richie Porte’s strengths, has ended up working out disastrously for Team Sky. With Chris Froome out injured, Richie Porte was the natural replacement to lead the team at Tirreno-Adriatico, with the time trial and big summit finishes more to his strength than the ‘Classics-like’ courses of Paris-Nice. But an illness picked up in Italy is proving very costly for the Australian. Having abandoned Tirreno when well-placed overall, he is still not in shape and visibly struggled through stage one in Catalonia before abandoning on stage two.

With Belfast’s Grande Partenza drawing ever-nearer, the chance for Porte to get some serious competitive miles in his legs before his maglia rosa bid is fast deteriorating. The Tour of the Basque Country, where Porte finished second last year, rolls out on April 7 before the Giro del Trentino at the end of April. If Porte is to challenge for the Giro d’Italia – something his legion of fans will certainly be hoping for – good form in those two races will be hugely important.