PAU, France, July 13 (Reuters) - Australian Richie Porte has confirmed he will leave Team Sky at the end of the season after four years as a domestique de luxe in the British outfit.
"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, who is riding the Tour de France, wrote in a column in the Sydney Morning Herald on Monday.
Porte has been linked with American team BMC Racing but the Tasmanian did not say where he was heading.
The 30-year-old rode in support of Bradley Wiggins in his successful 2012 Tour de France campaign, and was Chris Froome's right-hand man in 2013 when the Briton won the world's biggest stage race.
His performances earned him the leader status on this year's Giro d'Italia but he failed to deliver, abandoning the race after sustaining crash injuries.
Porte won the prestigious Paris-Nice week long race in 2013 and this year.
His best performance in a grant tour came in 2010 when he finished seventh in the Giro, also topping the best young rider's classification, while riding for Team Saxo Bank.