Although the race features over 100 kilometres of time trials, Ireland’s Nicolas Roche begins his fourth Tour de France today believing that his good form could see him log a strong GC performance.
The Irishman has traditionally lost time to the other GC riders against the clock but has worked hard this year to try to improve there. His position has been tweaked and having had time to become acquainted with the changes, he is hoping to limit his losses.
He has drawn encouragement from his tenth place in the recent Tour de Suisse, his best pre-Tour performance thus far. That contrasts with last year, when he fell heavily in the Critérium du Dauphiné and was forced to pull out, compromising his preparation.
This time round, things have gone to plan and while he had to be satisfied with a silver medal in last Sunday’s Irish road race championships, the 27 year old said afterwards that the signs were positive.
“Things this year were slow picking up but now they are picking up good,” he said in a video interview carried out at a somewhat noisy stage end, where the finish line structure was being dismantled as he spoke. “I think I should have a good Tour, hopefully.
“The morale is good now coming into the Tour. Today was a hard race, I did some good work today, and now it is just a question of recovering and getting a few rides before the Tour.”
Roche was second on a stage and 22nd overall in his first Tour in 2008, then finished a solid fourteenth in 2009. Last year was more difficult due to that Dauphiné crash and he ended up 25th. He’s also been seventh and sixteenth in the Vuelta, and won a stage of the Tour of Beijing last Autumn.
Asked what he was aiming for in the Tour, the Ag2r La Mondiale leader gave a general rather than a specific answer. “It is hard to say. It is going to depend a lot on my time trialling and how much I lose, and also on my climbing,” he said. “If I can climb as good as in the Tour de Suisse and do decent time trials, then I don’t think I’ll be too far [back] in GC.”
Roche wil also aim for a stage win, as will his first cousin Dan Martin. The Garmin Sharp rider is starting his first Tour and this means that Ireland will have more than one rider in the race for the first time in twenty years.
“I am excited that Dan finally gets a go at the Tour. The Tour is an extra special race, it is very different to any other race,” he said. “I think he still doesn’t realise it yet, but he will realise it soon.”
In the video above Roche speaks about his Tour hopes and also details his Irish road race championship performance, talking about where he made an error that potentially cost him his second title.