But the BMC rider is possibly less of a force this time round given that, apart from a stage victory in the Tour Down Under his 2018 performances have been undermined by illness.

"I'm not putting too much pressure on myself heading into the Tour de Romandie this year as I don't really know where my form is," said the 33-year-old from Launceston.

"However, while I have much more modest ambitions this year it is a race I enjoy so I will be going there ready to give it 100 per cent."

Porte will be backed up by team-mate Tejay van Garderen during the six-day race that is part of the International Cycling Union WorldTour and which is due to get fully underway on Wednesday (April 25) with stage one - a 161.6km course from Fribourg to Delemont.

Porte will be the only previous winner lining up in the race along with 2010 winner, Slovenia's Simon Špilak, who now rides for Team Katusha-Alpecin. 

Another Slovenia, Primož Roglič, riding for  LottoNL–Jumbo, looks the prime contender right now, having recently won the  Tour of the Basque Country.

Britain’s Team Sky rider Geraint Thomas also looks a strong challenger, along with Ion Izagirre, a Spaniard riding for Bahrain–Merida. 

The Tour de Romandie is a six-stage race in the French-speaking area of Switzerland that has established itself as one of the key events leading up to the Tour de France, as well as being a prestigious event in its own right.

In the past decade, Britain's Sir Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome and Australia's Cadel Evans have all won the race directly before going on to win the Tour de France

Traditionally, the race features time trials, hilly, flat and mountain stages. 

Stage three contains a 9.9km time trial from Ollon to Villars.

The penultimate stage starts and finishes in Sion, and will be the race’s main mountain stage, covering five mountain passes.

The race is due to conclude in Geneva on Sunday (April 29).