Porte seen as Tour winner Star quality: Richie Porte is a "work in progress." The podium hopes of Richie Porte in this year's Tour de France are long gone. But as the Australian continues to focus on helping Briton Chris Froome in the mountains, the question is not if he has the ability to win a three-week race but if he is ready to try and win one. Many agree the 28-year-old Tasmanian has all the attributes needed to win the Tour, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana. Porte can climb, he can time trial and, as his Team Sky principal David Brailsford says, he "can win." And while dropping from second place overall at 51seconds to 33rd at 18mins 30secs to Froome last Sunday was a bitter pill to swallow, the lessons should prove beneficial. In the meantime, Porte will continue to try to help Froome, with his first big call of duty coming on Sunday for the 242.2km 15th stage from Givors to the summit of Mont Ventoux, one of cycling's legendary climbs that rises for 20.8km to an altitude of 1912 metres at an average gradient of 7.5 per cent. "He is having a breakthrough season," Brailsford said of Porte, who started the Tour with a win in Paris-Nice and second places in the Criterium Internationale, Vuelta al Pais Vasco and Criterium du Dauphine Libere. His belief in his ability is really moving in the right direction. If he wants to win a grand tour, he has to have days like [last Sunday's stage nine] to learn from. It is not until you have been in situations of experience - adversity as well as success - that you get the full tool box ... to go against the best bike racers in the world for the biggest prizes. So long as Porte remains at Sky - he recently extended his contract with the British team by two years - he will most likely remain Froome's wingman for the Tour and be their plan B. But why not try and win the Giro or Vuelta? No Australian has won either race. The best finisher is 2011 Tour winner Cadel Evans (BMC) with his third in this year's Giro and 2009 Vuelta. Porte has said he would like to lead Sky in next year's Giro. Evans, speaking before Porte lost time on Sunday, believes Porte's ambition is justified. He could challenge for the win there. It's not beyond him," said Evans, who first met Porte before the 2009 world road title in Mendrisio, Switzerland, that he won. Evans then raced against Porte in the 2010 Giro, which was Porte's grand tour debut. In that race, Evans placed fifth and Porte seventh. Porte later credited Evans with offering him advice on the critical climbs he did not know. Evans, whose BMC team was interested in signing Porte after the 2010 Giro, believes Porte is a work in progress. "Obviously, he has a big motor and with training and experience he is developing," he said. I think there is a fair bit more potential to get on the results board in the years to come. BMC team president Jim Ochowicz says the potential of a developing rider like Porte should not be judged by one or two bad days. It is part of the curve, if you go through history you will find a bad day or two for almost every bike racer there is. It makes you tough," Ochowicz said. General manager of the Australian Orica-GreenEDGE team, Shayne Bannan, was - like many - taken back by Porte's second-place finish behind Froome on the eighth stage to Ax 3 Domaines. That Porte lost so much time the next day did not change his view. As Bannan, who spoke with Porte about joining Orica-GreenEDGE, said: "On what we saw [at Ax 3 Domaines], what have seen in the last years and on a little more consistency and maturity over the next year or so, we have the making of a Tour winner in the next few years." Live blog - Go online to smh.com.au to follow Michael O'Reilly's live blog of stage 15 from Givors to Mont Ventoux