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King of the Hill: Richie Porte’s six-year domination on Willunga Hill
Willunga Hill has featured in almost every edition of the men’s Tour Down Under since its inception in 1999.
Many have won here over the years, but no one has come close to the utter domination of Richie Porte, who from 2014 to 2019 made the 4km climb his own.
The first of many
In 2014 Porte was on the cusp of his 29th birthday in his third outing at the Tour Down Under and racing for Team Sky. He was riding with teammates Philip Deignan, Geraint Thomas, Bernie Eisel and Ian Stannard for their first race of the year.
Due to its placement at the end of the day and frequently featuring a double ascent, the stage that comprised Willunga Hill was typically the Queen Stage. That year it fell on Stage 5, a 151km day from McLaren Vale, and Aussies Cadel Evans and Simon Gerrans were battling it out at the top of the general classification.
Porte’s first victory in what would be an impressive six consecutive years on the trot came here after flying away from the GC chaos behind and nabbing bonus seconds. He shot up the standings to fourth overall but his best performances were still to follow.
Overall victory awaits
Porte began to use his performances on Willunga Hill to boost his Tour Down Under GC campaigns. In 2015, he jumped up to second overall behind Rohan Dennis after attacking twice on the final climb. He repeated this the following year, moving into second after winning from an attack just outside the flamme rouge.
2017 would be different. The Tasmanian flew into the lead of the race and the ochre jersey with a win on the Stage 2 uphill finish in Paracombe. The expected would soon follow, with Porte breaking away with ease to another victory on Willunga Hill on Stage 5, solidifying his standing as top dog.
The two stage victories meant that by the time the Tour Down Under finished one day later, he would claim his first overall title here by 48 seconds ahead of Orica-Scott’s Esteban Chaves. It would be the biggest winning margin of the race since 2004.
One last time
After another win on Willunga Hill in 2018, the last year of Porte’s crushing reign on the climb would be 2019, coinciding with his move to Trek-Segafredo. After much of the race had been one for the sprinters including Deceuninck-QuickStep’s Elia Viviani and UAE Team Emirates’ Jasper Philipsen, the last day saw an increase in gradient.
It was the first time the Tour Down Under’s final stage finished on the climb, a change from its typical Adelaide finish. This year would also be the closest showdown yet for Porte on Willunga Hill, having to chase down Wout Poels to win while Daryl Impey finished a couple of wheel lengths behind to become the first man to retain the overall title.
While that would be the last time Porte powered to victory on the climb at the Tour Down Under, he certainly didn’t let off. Despite first-year WorldTour pro Matthew Holmes ending his streak in 2020, Porte still set a new climbing record with an average speed of 27.4kmh for second place on the day and would win the race overall for a second time in his career.
When the Tour Down Under was cancelled due to Covid in 2021, organisers still put on the Santos Festival of Cycling including a four-stage race for Australian riders. Despite not being a WorldTour event, it took riders over familiar roads around Adelaide. It’s no surprise that when Willunga Hill came at the end of Stage 3, Porte prevailed ahead of an applauding Luke Plapp.
Even after his retirement at the end of 2022, his dominance persists. In 2024 he won the Garmin Willunga Hill Time-Trial, a public race against the clock as one of many participation rides around the Tour Down Under.
The Willunga Hill crown is still well and truly his. Retirement be damned.
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