GCN takes on former Tour Down Under winner Richie Porte on Willunga Hill

Richie Porte is a rider with a palmarès to be envious of. The best young rider on Grand Tour debut at the Giro d'Italia, Porte enjoyed a spell in the maglia rosa in 2010 before going on to finish seventh overall. A decade later and Porte would finish on the podium of the Tour de France, after winning almost all of the major one-week stage races in the WorldTour calendar.

Making his mark and then some halfway around the world, the Australian was also not shy in returning home and putting on a show in front of his own supporters. Porte twice won the overall title at the Tour Down Under and collected a record-breaking seven victories atop Willunga Hill.

Remarkably though, his fastest time on the Strava segment Old Willunga Hill actually came on the one day that Porte was denied victory atop Australia's most recognised climb.

The Australian may have won the 2020 Santos Tour Down Under and clocked in a KoM-setting time of 6:34, but he was rolled on the line by former British pro - and good friend of GCN's own Alex Paton - Matthew Holmes.

Four years on and Alex was so intrigued that he simply had to go and see Willunga Hill for himself, and who better than to show Alex the ropes than the 'King of Willunga Hill' himself, Richie Porte?

Read more: Tour Down Under: Richie Porte's stage-by-stage guide to the men’s race

The 38-year-old may have retired from racing with Ineos Grenadiers at the end of 2022, but Porte is still in mighty fine shape, as shown by his performance in the open-invite Willunga Hill time trial that took place ahead of stage 5 of the Santos Tour Down Under.

Read more: Richie Porte wins men's time trial and retains Strava record from Oscar Onley

Flying up the climb like he was still a WorldTour whippet, Porte went from the bottom to the top of Willunga Hill in 6:47 - only 13 seconds shy of his Strava KoM set in 2020. Great Britain's Oscar Onley (dsm-firmenich PostNL) would go even quicker on Saturday, winning stage 5 with a time of 6:35 on Willunga Hill - just one second short of the all-time record!

Pitted against these kinds of performances, Alex knew that he would have his work cut out for him, but we are never ones to back away from a challenge at GCN.

As well as hoping to beat Porte to the top of the climb, Alex discovers what the Australian has been up to since hanging up his cleats - hint: you won't be able to guess it - and lets Porte explain why racing up Willunga Hill is just as hard, if not harder, than some of the Tour de France's most fearsome mountains.

Spending the first half of the climb gleaning the all-important tips and tricks of Willunga Hill from Porte, Alex would seek inspiration from his friend Holmes in a march to roll the Australian on the line. But would he be able to come up trumps against the King of Willunga Hill?

Check out the video above to find out!

Discover more:

• Valtteri Bottas sets searing Strava time on Willunga Hill
• Tour Down Under stage 5: Oscar Onley wins on Willunga Hill