Nicolas Roche 2013

mistermatthew

What are your predictions on Nicolas Roche next season?

What role will he have with saxo-tinkoff and do you like me expect several Grand tour stage wins?

Also in the spring classics will he have a shot?

Does this spell the end for his (misguided IMO) GC contender aims?

Lusk Doyle

Who knows, but according to MPFG his year will be full of resentment. Of that much we can be certain!

Flandria

A stage win in Tirreno-Adriatico which will boost his palmares to a mighty total of 6. It might even be enough to get another book deal;)

MPFG

Lusk Doyle wrote: »

Who knows, but according to MPFG his year will be full of resentment. Of that much we can be certain!

I never said anyhing about his year being full of resentement ...I said body language shows lack of warmth and trust ...but it is early days...maybe they will be great mates after Roche has riden for Contador in a GT

However Roche's 2013 season is going to be difficult because it looks like Saxo will not be pro tour accoirding to reports

I hope he rides some one day classics as a leader to be honest

TheBlaaMan

SFA if Saxo Tinkoff dont get a World Tour spot.........

Lusk Doyle

MPFG wrote: »

I never said anyhing about his year being full of resentement ...I said body language shows lack of warmth and trust ...but it is early days...maybe they will be great mates after Roche has riden for Contador in a GT

However Roche's 2013 season is going to be difficult because it looks like Saxo will not be pro tour accoirding to reports

I hope he rides some one day classics as a leader to be honest

I was reading between the lines of what you had written and being slightly facetious.

CillianL

Once Bjarne Riis ad Contador get him onto the juice he'll be flying, anything is better than plain pasta from Ag2r, so roll on Nico in yellow!

TheBlaaMan

CillianL wrote: »

Once Bjarne Riis ad Contador get him onto the juice he'll be flying,

Eamonnator

TheBlaaMan wrote: »

SFA if Saxo Tinkoff dont get a World Tour spot.........

And it doesn't look as if they will according to this

http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/13334/Team-Saxo-Tinkoff-said-to-be-in-danger-of-losing-WorldTour-place.aspx

wav1

Just seen article on stickybottle.com re saxo training camp in Gran Canaria.Not a great choice ot tee shirt from Nico.

mistermatthew

Eamonnator wrote: »

And it doesn't look as if they will according to this

http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/13334/Team-Saxo-Tinkoff-said-to-be-in-danger-of-losing-WorldTour-place.aspx

If Saxo bank aren't involved in the major races I'll eat my hat and Berties dodgy steaks.

hayzer114

While it is rumoured that Saxo-Tinkoff may missout on a world tour place to Argos -Shimano I think with the presence of Contador they will still make most of the major races next season. As for Roche I think this is the move he has always needed. If you look at his performances in both the Tour and the Vuelta they have been consistent if unspectacular. He is more than capable of holding his own for 16/17 stages with the top guys but when the likes of Contador/Schleck/Froome/Nibali/Rodriguez put the foot down on the high mountains he just cant go anymore. No shame in that. Take this years Vuelta, he went as AG2R 3rd choice on GC and still was their highest performer, I feel that the team failed to give him sufficient support at times. Going to Saxo will be very beneficial, along with Contador and Kreuziger hel be one of the main guys, he could even focus his attention on the classics. Races such as Amstel and Fleche could be ideal for him.

elduggo

wav1 wrote: »

Just seen article on stickybottle.com re saxo training camp in Gran Canaria.Not a great choice ot tee shirt from Nico.

why? whats wrong with it?

MPFG

hayzer114 wrote: »

While it is rumoured that Saxo-Tinkoff may missout on a world tour place to Argos -Shimano I think with the presence of Contador they will still make most of the major races next season. As for Roche I think this is the move he has always needed. If you look at his performances in both the Tour and the Vuelta they have been consistent if unspectacular. He is more than capable of holding his own for 16/17 stages with the top guys but when the likes of Contador/Schleck/Froome/Nibali/Rodriguez put the foot down on the high mountains he just cant go anymore. No shame in that. Take this years Vuelta, he went as AG2R 3rd choice on GC and still was their highest performer, I feel that the team failed to give him sufficient support at times. Going to Saxo will be very beneficial, along with Contador and Kreuziger hel be one of the main guys, he could even focus his attention on the classics. Races such as Amstel and Fleche could be ideal for him.

I agree with you...I am a Roche fan and think he will do alot better with Saxo but wonder if the team will be invited to races without Contador
I too thought he did well in the Vuelta considering he had rode so hard in the Tour and he hung in there as best he could ( as did Froome) He even attacked to try and win the third last stage that Gilbert won ....He tries too many combinations as far as I see ...he needs to concentrate and hopefully on one day races and GT stages
( of course he wants to win Paris - Nice and a GT like his dad)
He was in the top 5 riders who races the most miles in 2012 ...He needs to realise like most of the top riders that he needs to be selective rather than strung out on every race
( Contador races less than many but trains more for the races he has selected to win.including training on the routes..something Roche could learn)

He would make a good classics rider with Saxo who besides Matti Bressiel are not strong in this area...He, unlike his father and cousin is not built for those high mountains

CillianL

wav1 wrote: »

Just seen article on stickybottle.com re saxo training camp in Gran Canaria.Not a great choice ot tee shirt from Nico.

That's just silly, who gives a ****e?

CaoimH_in

mistermatthew wrote: »

Does this spell the end for his (misguided IMO) GC contender aims?

What? I would take a top 8 over a stage win ANY day. He is a class rider. I think he can be a podium man too. He does have quality, he just needs guidance, and a bit more luck. Roll on Summertime and let's see what he can do for us!

Lusk Doyle

elduggo wrote: »

why? whats wrong with it?

It's a bit loose on him.

Xenophile

Met Nicholas Roche in Gran Canaria last week. Wearing a lovely Irish white tee shirt and "Ireland" logo on his rucksack. He had just finished a football game with this team mates. He requested his team mates to take it easy for a minute or two while we finished our conversation. Lovely personable guy deserves all the success he gets. A great ambassador for Ireland. I wish him every success.

Flandria

CaoimH_in wrote: »

What? I would take a top 8 over a stage win ANY day. He is a class rider. I think he can be a podium man too. He does have quality, he just needs guidance, and a bit more luck. Roll on Summertime and let's see what he can do for us!

Yes he needs guidance and luck, but more than that he needs to win. Four wins* in 8 years is a shocking record, and he knows it. Consistent top 8 finishes are all well and good but it is wins that people remember.

*Excluding national championships

CaoimH_in

Flandria wrote: »

Yes he needs guidance and luck, but more than that he needs to win. Four wins* in 8 years is a shocking record, and he knows it. Consistent top 8 finishes are all well and good but it is wins that people remember.

*Excluding national championships

It obviously hasn't been a goal? If he was required to win a stage, we would see him win stages. There isn't a doubt in my mind that if he wanted some poxy stage win to add to his palmares he'd be able for it. He's obviously under no pressure to get them so he can stick with his GC goals. He has entered 9 grand tours and of those 9 he has had 8 top 30 finishes. In 2010 Wiggins said 23rd wasn't bad, it was far from his goal but it wasn't bad for sure. And Mr Roche can get top 30 in nearly every attempt--top 16 in most of those too. He is still only 28 too. He's coming to maturity on a bicycle physically and once he gets enough tactical support, and becomes tactically cunning in the future, we will see the best of N. Roche yet. No more nonsense.

Flandria

Some poxy stage win?:eek::eek: You honestly think there is a ProTour team out there somewhere that doesn't require it's riders to win races? Wow...

CaoimH_in

Flandria wrote: »

Some poxy stage win?:eek::eek: You honestly think there is a ProTour team out there somewhere that doesn't require it's riders to win races? Wow...

I didn't say that. I just think his team didn't need stage victories from him while he was there best GC contender. Make sense? Thus he could continue his GC ambitions.

MPFG

Why did we not get Chris Juul-Jensen to ride for Irealnd ?? He was born and grew up in Ireland and lived there for 16 years. Neither Nico nor Dan Martin were born or grew up in the country

I was born in london, grew up in Ireland from aged 5 and left Ireland when I was 22 ...I couldn't imagine not represnting Ireland if I was an international sports person...even if Denmark is a lovely place (I have never been)

wav1

MPFG wrote: »

Why did we not get Chris Juul-Jensen to ride for Irealnd ?? He was born and grew up in Ireland and lived there for 16 years. Neither Nico nor Dan Martin were born or grew up in the country

I was born in london, grew up in Ireland from aged 5 and left Ireland when I was 22 ...I couldn't imagine not represnting Ireland if I was an international sports person...even if Denmark is a lovely place (I have never been)

He opted for Denmark.But has he a sweet Dublin accent.

elduggo

MPFG wrote: »

Why did we not get Chris Juul-Jensen to ride for Irealnd ?? He was born and grew up in Ireland and lived there for 16 years. Neither Nico nor Dan Martin were born or grew up in the country

he went back to Denmark and joined some Danish youth development program. He'd have been ineligible for that if he wasn't Danish, and if he hadn't have joined it its likely he wouldn't have gotten the pro contract that he did.

He has very Irish mannerisms (I don't know him personally but know people who do), as is very evident from reading his tweets or listening to him speaking.

I was born in london, grew up in Ireland from aged 5 and left Ireland when I was 22 ...I couldn't imagine not represnting Ireland if I was an international sports person...even if Denmark is a lovely place (I have never been)

Same as that. Remember, Nico Roche declared for France for a couple of years. I can't recall the circumstances but I think it was something to do with funding or with not being guaranteed entry into some races as an Irish rider. That got sorted and he switched back. It seems a strange thing to be able to do, to switch nationalities almost at a whim. Perhaps Juul-Jensen will do the same down the line. He'd likely have a better chance of being a national champion, making a nationals squad, or an olympics as an Irish rider than a Danish rider.

We should probably check out the background of other riders such as Jonathan Cantwell (probably too late for Stuart O'Grady at this stage) and check their Irish credentials!

manwithaplan

Nico to self: "I wonder should I mention to Alberto that my favourite film is We Need To Talk About Kevin"

hayzer114

I too agree that he needs to focus his attention on one if not two disciplines from now on. Hes going to have to decide is he a GC man (personally Im not sure although if he was fresh and didnt do the tour or giro he could have a right go at the vuelta) or a classics specialist or stage hunter. While it is admirable to want to do a Tour top ten as Contador said in a recent interview if you aim for top ten you will only make top 40. You have to aim to win. Nicolas' talent is undoubted and with a team that provides solid support he could and will do well. I found it disapointing over the past number of grand tours that he was consistently up in the top 15/20 that he was frequently left on his own by the team.

buffalo

Interview by Stokes on VeloNation:

http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/13363/Nicolas-Roche-Interview-One-step-back-to-take-two-steps-forward.aspx

hayzer114

Good article, interesting schedule. Obviously still has his sights on the Tour/Vuelta, has never shown any real interest in the Giro. Hopefully he can have a go at the week long stage races also. I think he may do LBL or Amstel also by the sounds of it.

mistermatthew

manwithaplan wrote: »

Nico to self: "I wonder should I mention to Alberto that my favourite film is We Need To Talk About Kevin"

He should talk to alberto about why he's wearing the union jack.

downwiththatsor

http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/13404/Contador-confirms-he-wants-to-focus-on-2013-Tour-de-France-may-not-ride-other-Grand-Tours.aspx

So might Nico be team leader for the Giro or Vuelta?

buffalo

MPFG

The problem isn't how many riders they have but that they won't be Pro Tour, especially not with that Tinkov guy spouting off like this in the present climate

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tinkov-claims-cyclings-doping-problems-are-exaggerated?ns_campaign=news&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=cyclingnews&ns_linkname=0&ns_fee=0

Flandria

Tinkoff is a tosseur and he shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the sport. Shimano deserve the last ProTour spot for Kittel's honesty alone... http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/geschke-kittel-unimpressed-by-tinkovs-comments-over-proteam-licence

happytramp

Jaysus, Nico finding himself in some questionable company these days.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/michael-rogers-leaves-sky-for-saxo-tinkoff

full_irish

Nicolas Roche Twitter- 4th Feb wrote:

Nice training with @GertSteegmans this morning. Packing up for tour med!

Nico looks to be team leader for the 5-stage Tour Med kicking off tomorrow. Hopefully he has a good showing. I wonder if there will be a dramatic improvement in performance from training under Riis and with great cyclists like Rogers...

TEAM SAXO-TINKOFF wrote:

81 ROCHE Nicolas IRL
82 KREUZIGER Roman
83 MAJKA Rafal POL
84 ROGERS Michael AUS
85 JENSEN Christopher Juul DEN
86 PETROV Evgeny RUS
87 SUTHERLAND Rory AUS
88 ZAUGG Olivier SUI

crumliniano

I assumed Kreuzigers signing would hamper Nicos chances significantly. If he is leading the team above it bodes well.

full_irish

The team leader being _1 is usually the way it goes, right? Although AG2R were a bit weird in that it didn't always follow that way.

p.s anyone with a bit more knowledge wanna give some info on the others -namely Kreuziger?

Flandria

MPFG wrote: »

He is probably in the best form at the begining of the season as he has kept his weight down and probably trained well all winter ....Hope he keeps or improves form in March and April for Paris Nice and Td Romandie...would like to see him lead in those races as Contador not riding these

And with Contodor not doing the classics or the Giro and concentrating on the TdF and ridign the Crit de Daup I expect Krusiger is planning on leading the Giro maybe the tour de Suisse

Contador is talking up a Giro-TDF shot...

Asked he would aim to win two grand tours this year, he said: “It could be the Giro and the Tour. That’s the most possible option because the Giro isn’t as difficult as it has been for the last few years. It’s possible to do the Giro and then go the Tour and try and win both.”

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-announces-possible-giro-ditalia-and-tour-de-france-bid-at-san-luis

full_irish

Cheers horse. You're a good egg.

crumliniano

MPFG wrote: »

Kreuziger is very good ....won Tour de Suisse, podiums for Paris/Nice, Tde Romandie and T de Suise and stage winner in Giro
Didn't too well last year with Astana ...but very talented , very good climber and time trialist....two years younger than Nico

Micahel Rogers also a good climber and a very good time trialist..former world champion at TT and olympic medaist...he is 5 yeasr older than Nice ...Has won or podiumed on many of the big races and top 10 in GTs. He also will want to be leader I imagine for some races

On paper they are much better than Nico...but maybe this is the competetion that Roche needs to push him up the ladder....Time will tell

I reckon Rogers role, given his age, will be more of a road captain (I think he did that at Sky).
Zaugg is another name to note on that line up. Surprise winner of the 2011 Tour of Lombardy. Though I don't think he is any threat to Nico's ambitions.

As you say MPFG, on paper Kreuziger is better than Nico. You have to imagine Riis sees him as the GC alternative if Contador is in any trouble (injurywise). I guess it is probably not as straight forward as one or the other though and it makes sense to have a strong roster. It will be interesting to see what kind of hierarchy forms over the course of the season.

Chips Lovell

Going by the numbers at least, it would appear Roche is the team leader for this one.

Kreuzinger is a good rider, but tends to underperform given his talent. Not too dissimilar to Roche really, although he's gotten better results. Riis has a history of signing guys that haven't really fulfilled their potential in the belief that he tends to get the best out of them.

elduggo

Vladimir Kurtains wrote: »

Going by the numbers at least, it would appear Roche is the team leader for this one.

Kreuzinger is a good rider, but tends to underperform given his talent. Not too dissimilar to Roche really, although he's gotten better results. Riis has a history of signing guys that haven't really fulfilled their potential in the belief that he tends to get the best out of them.

I think Roche would have fared better than Kruizinger if he had been in teams with that kind of strength and organisation. Astana were never the absolute strongest or best organised, but in comparison to ag2r they were streets ahead.

I agree that they're similar kinds of riders but it seems to me that Nico might have the edge in that he would appear to be able to manage his effort levels better than RK. Nico rarely has outstanding days but likewise, rarely has stinkers (though he has had some). Kruizeger on the other hand, seems to have days at both ends of the extreme.

It'll be an interesting one. I can see them starting out as joint leaders and pretty much seeing how things go. Whoever is strongest a couple of days in gets to be sole leader.

I think Rogers is a mountain domestique. I don't see him as road captain. It was Eisel who did that at Sky, not Rogers.

Lumen

MPFG wrote: »

I am not sure what this spolier blackout thing is about considering the results are all over the internet and not sure why yesterdays results are still dedacted ??

The spoiler rules are in the Forum Charter. You've read that, right?

CramCycle

MPFG wrote: »

I am not sure what this spolier blackout thing is about considering the results are all over the internet and not sure why yesterdays results are still dedacted ??

Because some people may have been avoiding them for whatever reason and there was no warning of spoilers, people are just being considerate. A day isn't much to ask if someone has been working or away and there was no warning in the thread title.

Chips Lovell

Forum charter states:

2. Threads about televised racing
Spoiler tags are used hide commentary about race results from boardsies who haven't watched a race live and are waiting to catch up later in the day. If you don't know what a spoiler tag is, find out. If you break the rules on spoilers, expect severe punishment. We wait all year to follow the big races so don't ruin it by being thoughtless.
For non-stage-specific threads about stage races (e.g. "TdF 2011"), use spoiler tags until midnight.
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If you follow the above rules, there is no need to create "contains spoilers" type threads. This is ambiguous since one person's spoiler is another persons spoiler tag.

godtabh

riparooo wrote: »

I think todays result, as long as its not a freak one, is a total gamechanger. If Roche has got his TT in order then he has the ability to actually win GTs. I've heard from reliable people that he spent a lot of time in Saxo wind tunnel and they changed both the bike and his position.

Today he beat a bunch of seriously solid time trailers, he was very consistent last year in the mountains and I think augurs well for this season.

MOD VOICE: Read the warnings above, cards the next time, if people want to discuss the race, open a thread about it, put the phrase SPOILERS in the title

THANK YOU

Any training for TTs is better than what he did at his last team. Sure up until last season I dont think they even gave him a TT bike to train on

iregk

godtabh wrote: »

Any training for TTs is better than what he did at his last team. Sure up until last season I dont think they even gave him a TT bike to train on

They didn't and even at that when it came to the grand tour's they didn't even give them the proper wheels.

ednwireland

iregk wrote: »

They didn't and even at that when it came to the grand tour's they didn't even give them the proper wheels.

actually reynolds claimed that deep section wheels were as aero as a full disc after wind tunnel tests (funny how they were the only ones who thought that)

CramCycle

Moved spoilers on the tour de Med to a specific tour de med thread for anyone wanting to continue the discussion

buffalo

http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/13904/Nicolas-Roche-feature-Improved-confidence-with-Team-Saxo-Tinkoff.aspx

Interview after the TT.