Richie Porte fourth in Tour of Catalonia

Richie Porte fourth in Tour of Catalonia

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BARCELONA: Australian cyclist Richie Porte says he's happy with his form and his performance in the Tour of Catalonia despite just missing out on a podium finish.

Porte, who was the defending champion, came in fourth overall on Sunday behind Colombia's Nairo Quintana, Spain's Alberto Contador and Ireland's Daniel Martin.

Quintana successfully defended his seven-second advantage over Contador on the final stage, an eight-lap ride through 136.4km up and down the Montjuic hill overlooking Barcelona.

Richie Porte said he was happy with his week of racing.

Richie Porte said he was happy with his week of racing. Photo: Getty Images

Russian rider Aleksei Tsatevich won the seventh stage in a sprint with Primoz Roglic of Slovenia.

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Movistar rider Quintana stayed close to Contador from the start on Sunday and his lead was never in jeopardy.

Daniel Martin of Ireland, the 2013 winner, finished third overall - 17 seconds behind Quintana.

Porte's team, BMC Racing, took out the team classification with its US rider Tejay van Garderen coming fifth overall.

Porte said in a statement he was happy with his week of racing despite not ending up on the podium.

"I think it was the perfect race at this time of the year. I didn't really expect to hold onto the podium when Dan Martin was sprinting for bonus seconds but I think I showed that my form is good.

"It was always going to be a bridging race so I'm happy with my performance and it was a good chance to race with Tejay for the first time."

The weeklong race in northeastern Spain attracted some of cycling's top riders, including Tour de France champion Chris Froome, who finished eighth overall, 46 seconds behind Quintana.

AP/AAP