Having lost time for the second day in a row, Richie Porte now reveals the reason for his sudden loss of form. The Australian is suffering from a chest infection but still hopes to make it to the finish in Paris.

Richie Porte was not at his best for the second successive day – crossing the line over five minutes down on Majka - and revealed after the stage that he has been struggling with a chest infection since the race hit the mountains.

He told TeamSky.com: "I’ve not been feeling 100% so I've gone on antibiotics to try and knock the infection on the head. I’ve been feeling it on my lungs and haven’t been breathing well.

"It’s really disappointing, especially as this was my first real chance to show what I could do in the Tour. All the guys have been riding so strongly for me but this bug has really taken it out of me, and it’s just one of those things unfortunately. I’m going to take things day by day but I really want to complete the Tour and hopefully I’ll be able to make it to Paris."