Irishman talks about factors that have helped bring about his own improvement
Nicolas Roche has said that he expects Thor Hushovd to have a very strong season as world road race champion, being confident that his former team-mate will shine in the rainbow jersey.
The two spent two seasons together on the Crédit Agricole team and the young Irishman is sure that the Norwegian will handle the pressure well.
“I think Hushovd is one of the best riders in the bunch, and he proved it by becoming world champion. I rode two years with him, doing the Giro on the same team. I think he will be one of the best in years,” he told VeloNation.
It’s often happened that the wearer of the rainbow jersey has bad luck the following year. Some have referred to it as a curse, while many others believe it is down to the obligations that a world champion faces in the months after the win, specifically the effects of those demands on training and resting. There’s also the question of being marked more closely and of facing up to increased pressure.
However Roche provides a good example of a rider who has been able to overcome those issues, and he believes that Hushovd will also fare well.
“Cadel [Evans] has been one of the great world champions of recent times. He started the season in January and finished in Lombardia, and he’s competitive most of the year,” he said. “He is always fighting, he has a good image in the bunch and I think he did the champion’s jersey proud. Cadel was a good world champion, and I definitely think that Thor will be as well.”
Working on his own improvement:
Roche has just completed his most successful season; it’s one that saw him finish ride strongly in both the Tour and the Vuelta a España, and take a number of other important results. He’s becoming stronger naturally as he ages, but explains that it’s also about being more professional.
“I’ve changed a fair bit in the past few years. Partly in the way of training, and just even my lifestyle as well. Everything I do is thinking about the races,” he told VeloNation. “Before, I would say, ‘ah, I will be good in July and August, I was always good in July and August.’ But that is the continuation of amateur thinking. Over the past two and a half to three years, it is changing slowly but surely.
“Every year I am doing a bit more, saying ‘this worked last year, but I still have this much to go again this season.’ I want to keep improving.”
One area that has helped the Ag2r La Mondiale rider is becoming leaner. Lugging less kilos of body fat means that he’s climbing better than before, as evidenced by his 15th place in the Tour de France and 7th in the Vuelta a España. “I’ve been working hard on the weight and am helped by the fact that the team doctor is a good dietician,” he explained.
“We have long chats about diet. I am a great cooking fan and we just play around with the diets. He gave me a really, really strict diet when I was off injured for three weeks after the Tour de Romandie. He said, ‘right, Niko, this is what you have to do if you want to keep the form for the Tour.’”
Roche feels that it is a succession of small things that come together to effect a bigger improvement. It’s about looking at each component and getting it right. “I’ve realized that it is not just about having strong legs, but also about having strong legs and doing the training and the right diet as well,” he stated. “I’ve had to get the lifestyle right, and not just presume I’ll be stronger, that the form will come.”