The cycling world will learn whether Richie Porte is a general classification (GC) contender or an also-ran during this month's Giro d'Italia, according to Australian ex-pro Henk Vogels.
Porte has won three multi-stage races in the lead-up to the Giro and Vogels is convinced the 30-year-old Team Sky cyclist is "odds-on favourite" to claim the pink GC jersey in Milan on May 31.
As Australian cycling continues to search for the heir to Cadel Evans, who retired in February, Vogels reckons Porte is perfectly placed to become Australia's new GC frontrunner at the likes of the Giro and the Tour de France.
Vogels - a professional cyclist from 1995-2008 and now a pundit on SBS in Australia - has laid down the gauntlet to Porte.
"This year's Giro will pretty much define Richie Porte's career," Vogels told Perform.
The 41-year-old added: "We will know if Richie Porte will be capable of winning a grand tour after this Giro. At the end of May, we will know whether Richie will win one grand tour or none at all, meaning this is the best he's prepared.
"I believe he can win it, you know, he's won three stage races this year."
Porte started his season by winning Australia's time trial championship and followed it up in March with victory at Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya.
The Tasmanian also triumphed in the Giro's traditional form guide - the Giro del Trentino - in April.
"Richie outclassed everyone, he was streets ahead, very much in the same vein as [Vincenzo] Nibali did [when he went on to win the Giro d'Italia in 2013]," Vogels said.
"So he would have to be odds-on favourite to win the tour but having said that, he hasn't done it in the past."
Porte's best result in a grand tour came in the 2010 Giro when he finished seventh.
"He always seems to have one bad day in these grand tours, when he's been up there," Vogels said.
"You know, he's run top-10 in the Giro before. He's had the pink jersey [but] he always seems to have one bad day. If he can get some consistency and not overdo it one day in the mountains, and ride within himself and learn a little bit more about his body, he'll go a long way to winning the tour."
The 2015 Giro starts on Saturday with Porte expected to take on the likes of Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Fabio Aru (Astana) for the pink jersey.