Porte confirms he will leave Team Sky

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Richie Porte has confirmed that he will leave Team Sky at the end of the season. The Australian is currently riding the Tour de France  in support of Chris Froome, who leads the race after nine stages.

Porte cannot officially sign for a new team until the UCI transfer window opens on August 1 but is expected to sign for BMC Racing and link up with Tejay van Garderen. BMC tried to sign Porte several years ago and told Cyclingnews last week that they were looking to sign climbers for next season.

Porte confirmed his departure from Team Sky to the Sydney Morning Herald, saying: “Yes it's true... I'm leaving the team. I'm going. But it's important to know that I'm leaving the team on really good terms and I want to finish my fourth year with them on a real high."

Porte led Team Sky at this year’s Giro d’Italia but abandoned the race in the final week after falling out of contention. He has won a number of week long stage races while at Team Sky and has formed part of the team’s two Tour successes in 2012 and 2013.