Roche to do something today?

michaelm

Apologies if this has been posted already but I only just discovered that Nicolas Roche is writing a daily diary in the Irish Independent - according to tthis morning's piece he hopes to do something, by way of a break, today.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/cycling-wind-and-a-prayer-1813496.html

Genghis

Good link, had forgotten about this in the Independent. This might be better placed in the Tour de France thread?

thebouldwhacker

god he's a bit of a moaner isnt he, I wish him all the luck i the world but jezz cheer up man:rolleyes:

godihatethehils

very interesting

but he's certainly not going for the fun factor....:(

give me tommy bowe's blog anyday....
http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/lions-bowe/

RobFowl

"The team wants a presence in each move and I haven't been as active as they'd like. I know the mountains are coming and a long day out front could mean I will be tired before we get to the big climbs on Saturday, but you have to follow orders"

Don't you hust love DS's who know feck all. Asking a climber who has a decnet kick to waste energy on a flat stage when Sat/Sundays are far more suited to breakaways :rolleyes:
And the French teams wonder why they win so little !

Liamo08

Lads he's not actually writing this himself. He's giving his thoughts every night to a journalist who's writing it for him, so how he's feeling may not eaxactly come across in the articles. Still I'm enjoying reading it so far.

petethedrummer

RobFowl wrote: »

Don't you hust love DS's who know feck all. Asking a climber who has a decnet kick to waste energy on a flat stage when Sat/Sundays are far more suited to breakaways :rolleyes:
And the French teams wonder why they win so little !

As recent threads will show my knowledge of Irish cyclists is patchy at best, but he said he's no good at climbing in this interview.

RobFowl

petethedrummer wrote: »

As recent threads will show my knowledge of Irish cyclists is patchy at best, but he said he's no good at climbing in this interview.

13th overall in the Veulta says otherwise !

kennyb3

RobFowl wrote: »

when Sat/Sundays are far more suited to breakaways :rolleyes:

how do sat and sunday compare to friday. i thought friday would be a huge stage given the uphill climb at the finish? have looked at the maps of both stages but im no expert. any idea which is likely to be the toughest stage?

petethedrummer

RobFowl wrote: »

13th overall in the Veulta says otherwise !

Grand, just going by what I think I remember he said, which could be wrong.:D

Chips Lovell

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

god he's a bit of a moaner isnt he, I wish him all the luck i the world but jezz cheer up man:rolleyes:

He's just describing it as it is. The Tour is bloody hard.

Liamo08 wrote: »

Lads he's not actually writing this himself. He's giving his thoughts every night to a journalist who's writing it for him, so how he's feeling may not eaxactly come across in the articles. Still I'm enjoying reading it so far.

Gerard Cromwell is ghost writing it.

petethedrummer wrote: »

As recent threads will show my knowledge of Irish cyclists is patchy at best, but he said he's no good at climbing in this interview.

Funny, he said to me he thought he was a good climber. He's not in the Contador league, but last year's Vuelta proved that he's better than most. He's a bit of an all rounder in my book. Climbs quite well and is developing a good sprint.

RobFowl

kennyb3 wrote: »

how do sat and sunday compare to friday. i thought friday would be a huge stage given the uphill climb at the finish? have looked at the maps of both stages but im no expert. any idea which is likely to be the toughest stage?

Sat 2 cat 1's and 1 cat 2 but lasy 50 k is downhill or flat ,its got breakaway writen all over it
http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/96th-tour-de-france-gt/stages/stage-8/map
Sunday
1 cat 1 and 1 HC but the 60+ ks downhill or flat to the finish, ideal for a breakaway win
http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/96th-tour-de-france-gt/stages/stage-9/map

Liamo08

el tonto wrote: »

Gerard Cromwell is ghost writing it.

Ha ha didn't know that was common knowledge. I thought I had insider info there.

petethedrummer

el tonto wrote: »

He's just describing it as it is. The Tour is bloody hard.
Gerard Cromwell is ghost writing it.

This is not good enough. He's out enjoying himself on his bicycle all day and he can't even be bothered to write a few words about it.

el tonto wrote: »

Funny, he said to me he thought he was a good climber. He's not in the Contador league, but last year's Vuelta proved that he's better than most. He's a bit of an all rounder in my book. Climbs quite well and is developing a good sprint.

Grand, I may have misheard.

Chips Lovell

Liamo08 wrote: »

Ha ha didn't know that was common knowledge. I thought I had insider info there.

He put it on his Twitter feed.

Quigs Snr

Decent climber yes, but hardly a specialist. At least not at TDF level. 13th in Vuelta is a lot easier than 13th in the tour. Not to take anything away from him, he is doing great. Not in the same league as his daddy though ! Great to see the Irish jersey out there though, shame they couldn't make the rest of the kit match up a bit better with it.

zzzzzzzz

Quigs Snr wrote: »

Decent climber yes, but hardly a specialist. At least not at TDF level. 13th in Vuelta is a lot easier than 13th in the tour. Not to take anything away from him, he is doing great. Not in the same league as his daddy though ! Great to see the Irish jersey out there though, shame they couldn't make the rest of the kit match up a bit better with it.

He mentioned in the independent that shorts & helmet should be arriving in the 2nd week

Chips Lovell

aidan.offbeat wrote: »

He mentioned in the independent that shorts & helmet should be arriving in the 2nd week

I was guessing alright that since he won the jersey just before the tour, they didn't have time to knock anything up for him.

Junior

Did well to cover that split today and finished 12th overall on the stage, thought he was 11th on Cancellara's wheel

TurloughT

Nice bit of fighting talk in todays article.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/tour-de-france-refusing-to-tow-the-energy-line-1817227.html

He will be prominent enough today on the telly as they defend the yellow.

Running Bing

TurloughT wrote: »

Nice bit of fighting talk in todays article.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/tour-de-france-refusing-to-tow-the-energy-line-1817227.html

He will be prominent enough today on the telly as they defend the yellow.

love that attitude.:pac:

Diarmuid

Where was Roche today? Didn't see him on the front a whole lot. (or at all)

NewDubliner

Diarmuid wrote: »

Where was Roche today? Didn't see him on the front a whole lot. (or at all)

Get a bigger TV!

Diarmuid

NewDubliner wrote: »

Get a bigger TV!

Must do, I guess. Was he wearing the Green Irish jersey?

Ryaner

Anyone read his latest column http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/in-the-line-of-fire-on-and-off-duty-1818921.html

Notably

It's not, though, where you expect to get shot. Yesterday morning, I was sitting talking to one of the main bosses of Ag2r, an agricultural insurance company that sponsors our team, when a massive bang -- like a gunshot -- went off.

Immediately, I felt a sting behind my left knee. I looked down to see blood pouring from my leg and a massive bruise appearing at the back of my knee around the tendon area. I had been shot!

zzzzzzzz

Ryaner wrote: »

Anyone read his latest column http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/in-the-line-of-fire-on-and-off-duty-1818921.html

Notably

Mad.

Hopefully it doesn't hinder him through the rest of the race.

Was great to see him coming over the top of the tourmalet at the front of the pack in the national champions jersey.


From Irishcycling.com

scottreynolds

aidan.offbeat wrote: »

Mad.

Shot before a stage -- the more than madness.

I particularly enjoyed this comment :

People ask me why I take part in the sprints, but I love it. I love the thrill of people leaning on you, the pushing and elbowing, the split-second decisions that have to be made but I never take any crazy risks.

Running Bing

Thats so weird.


So do they still not know what happened

petethedrummer

Was Greg Lemond's brother in law at a nearby carnival duck shoot?

Ghost Rider

Maybe Paul Kimmage has finally gone postal.

petethedrummer wrote: »

Was Greg Lemond's brother in law at a nearby carnival duck shoot?

Chips Lovell

I think it was Dick Cheney

Captain Havoc

This has got all the makings of a cheesy American soap: Previously on High Cadence, as his team is leading le tour, young French Irish national champion is shot. Tonight on Americas most watched cycling soap, the search continues, so who did shoot Nicolas Roche?

seven stars

We were on the first (small) climb on the stage from Girona to Barcelona last Thursday, cheering Nicolas Roche on with a big tricolour. He saw us and gave us a friendly nod.

Great to see him doing well on his first tour.

zzzzzzzz

An explanation:

http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/vampires-strike-but-no-shots-fired-1820456.html wrote:

Apparently the race organisation, ASO, said it was an ice compressor that exploded on one of the trucks behind the village and that it could have been a bolt or something that tore my leg.

That would also explain why my boss got wet. I suppose at least I can stop looking for an assassin in the shadows now.

michaelm

Have to say fair play to the Indo for the diary - it is adding a lot to the enjoyment of the tour. I love the honesty of his comments and the insight he is giving.