Nicolas Roche and journalist Gerard Cromwell shortlisted for top Irish media award

Gerard Cromwell and Nicolas Roche have already won an award for the book 'Inside the Peloton'. Can they now win the major sports journalism award they are in the running for?

Taking a well deserved break having just had the season of his life with his new Saxo-Tinkoff team, Nicolas Roche and journalist Gerard Cromwell have just been named on the shortlist for a top Irish journalism award.

The duo are in the running for the Sports Columnist of the Year prize at the upcoming National Media Awards for the race diary that appears in The Irish Independent on the occasion of the major races Roche rides.

The column, which has been going a number of years, has built up a very loyal following and won many fans for the 2013 Vuelta stage winner.

It is perhaps best known for its brutally honest and often very witty insights into the world of pro bike racing.

The diary-style column is often at its best when Roche explores the behind-the-scenes goings on at stage races when the riders are not racing. It is rarely a simple blow by blow account of how the race action unfolded on any particular stage.

The column has already spawned a book by Roche - Inside the Peloton - which won the Bord Gais Energy Sports Book of the Year award two years ago. Cromwell wrote the book with Roche and he also ghost writes the column.

The awards Roche and Cromwell are nominated in are the biggest in the country, with the winners to be announced at a reception in Dublin in two weeks.

The nomination is particularly welcome news for Cromwell who now makes his living from writing, with entry onto the shortlist in the national awards always a good boost for any writer.

Gerard is a regular writer here on stickybottle and it goes without saying that we wish him and Roche the very best of luck when the judges meet to decide the winners. Break a leg guys!