Detailed discussion of year one with Team Saxo Tinkoff
The 2013 Vuelta a España was a breakthrough race for Nicolas Roche, with the Irishman winning stage two and then, several days later, taking over the race lead.
Both were first for the Team Saxo Tinkoff rider, who had gone close to Grand Tour stage wins and race leadership in the past, but always fell just short.
Roche wore each of the leaders’ jerseys in the race and went on to finish fifth overall; again, that was a best-ever performance for him. It shows he is still improving and with his previous bugbear, the time trial, now becoming a stronger discipline, he is confident that he can go on to bigger performances in the future.
The 29 year recently met with VeloNation and sat down for an extensive interview in a Dublin hotel. Away from the bustle of racing and the buzz of the pro circuit, Roche was relaxed and open in his answers, having time to go into considerable detail about a range of topics.
In part one of a two part interview, he speaks at length about his 2013 season, talking about his move to Team Saxo Tinkoff, the changes he made as a result of that switch from Ag2r La Mondiale, and errors which affected his performance in the first half of the season.
He also discusses the Tour de France and racing alongside Alberto Contador, revealing the Spaniard’s thought processes during an event which was slipping away from him, and details his Vuelta a España and world championship experiences.
Get a coffee, pull up a comfortable chair and watch part I below. The second part of the interview, which looks forward to 2014 and beyond, can be seen here.