Named by Filippo Pozzato as one of those to watch in the world road race championships, Nicolas Roche is taking an unconventional approach in that he will arrive in Australia just four days before the Elite event.
The 26 year old Irishman is remaining longer in Europe than many of his rivals, and admits that it is a bit of a gamble to do so. However, he said that after finishing 15th in the Tour de France and seventh in the Vuelta a España, he felt that he needed a few days to unwind and touch base before digging deep once more.
“I have been away for two Grand Tours and have done a lot,” he told VeloNation this week. “Mentally, I feel that I needed to stay at home and spend this week there, then go there at the last minute and stay focussed there. The alternative is to go there early and spend ten days thinking about what is going to happen. I didn’t want to be in Australia going around in circles, thinking, thinking, thinking. I don’t think that would have suited me.”
Roche is known as a rider who gets tense before major objectives. That normally doesn’t affect his performance, instead driving him onwards, but having ridden two Grand Tours in one season for the first time, he didn’t feel up to flying out as early as some of his rivals and spending days worrying about the race.
Talking about his different approach, the Irishman said that Philippe Gilbert was due to leave Madrid last Monday, one day after the Vuelta finished, and would go straight to Australia.
However Gilbert did not do the Tour de France and has based his season completely around the worlds. Another who finished the Tour and the Vuelta, Joaquin Rodriguez, said this week that he wouldn’t go to the worlds due to physical and mental fatigue.
In fact, many who did both races will be missing. Of those in the top ten, Carlos Sastre and Luis León Sanchez are the only other riders to complete those Grand Tours; Sastre will not travel to Australia, meaning that Sanchez and Roche will be the only high finishers to attempt all three races.
What could work in Roche’s favour is his strong form. He had a superb showing in the Vuelta, netting several top ten stage placings and finishing up seventh overall. He was just 20 seconds off fifth place, and 43 off fourth.
The 26 year old is clearly going well, but says he needs time to chill out at his home in Varese, Italy. “In this particular situation, as I am just back from the Vuelta, I think I needed to go home, empty my suitcase, sit in my sofa, watch my TV and do my training here. To focus on getting ready for the worlds from here, and then to go there and do the job.
“I hope I am going to be okay. I will try to keep focussed and hope that things go right,” he continued. “I’ve never been a world championship rider, I have never been able to do a good worlds. There was always something missing on the day. This time, I am saying to myself, ‘okay, maybe this one could be different, as I am going well.’ I will give it a shot anyway, see how things go.”
He will be backed by national champion Matt Brammeier and David McCann in the 260 kilometre event.