The result for his parents,Ian and Penny,and the Australian cycling community is as good as a win after four years of fighting for the yellow jersey and overcoming blunders and bad luck.
"As I said to my husband this morning,that young man[Pogacar] is 22 tomorrow and I think Richie had only done one year as an amateur at that age. He didn't start until late so that's really the amazing thing,"Penny Porte told The AgeandThe Sydney Morning Herald on Sunday.
"I don't think he got on a bike until he was about 15 or 16 and it wasn't his own bike,it was just a borrowed one. When you hear a lot of the cyclists speak,they've been riding since they were nine years old.
"He's a very private person. He doesn't always say what he's dreaming of,he just goes about his business and achieves it without talking too much and that's basically Richie.
"We're just happy that he's happy. It's a dream come true. I think we feel as if he's won. That's honestly how we feel,just relief. There's so many ups and down in anyone's career and he's certainly had his fair share of those."
Porte jumped from fourth to third overall after placing third in stage 20 on Saturday - a 36.2km time trial,which Tour debutant Pogacar won to sensationally steal the yellow jersey from Roglic on the penultimate day.