Nicolas Roche had to tell team mates to stop chasing Dan Martin at Giro

Nicolas Roche said as Dan Martin and Davide Formolo are close to his team mate Romain Bardet overall at the Giro, Team DSM were monitoring attacks from both of them yesterday. However, Roche explained that Martin and Formolo were so aggressive in the opening phase of yesterday's stage he had to tell his team mates to stop chasing them

Nicolas Roche has said the start of yesterday’s stage 17 at the Giro was so aggressive - with attacks from riders close on general classification to his team mate Romain Bardet - that he had to tell his Team DSM team mates to stop chasing.

The Irishman explained his cousin Dan Martin (Israel Start Up Nation) and Italian climber Davide Formolo (UAE Team Emirates) were especially active. And while Team DSM was monitoring them, as they may threaten Bardet’s position in the overall, Roche eventually had to tell his team mates to stop chasing Martin and Formolo.

“Romain began the day in seventh place overall, so as the break sparked off the front this morning, we tried to stop any guys who were near to him in the overall standings from escaping,” Roche explains in his Giro Diary in the Irish Independent today.

“The last thing we wanted was for somebody to gain five
or six minutes from behind and leapfrog him in the GC.

“While my cousin Dan and Italian Davide Formolo were two of those riders, they were so active today that I eventually had to tell the guys to stop chasing them, as we were using up a lot of energy.”

Dan Martin went on to win stage 17 from the breakaway yesterday. He is now a contender for the top 10 overall or higher, something Team DSM is monitoring as several riders could threaten the general classification position of its leader Romain Bardet. The Frenchman is now 7th overall and looking to move higher, though ceded time to some of his rivals yesterday *(Photo: Fabio Ferrari)*

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Roche added even after the day’s main breakaway,
containing eventual stage winner Dan Martin, went clear on a climb 50km into
the stage, the attacks continued in the bunch.

And when he realised at the end of the day that his
cousin had held on from the breakaway and won the stage, he said he felt great
pride.

Roche stayed in the peloton as it was whittled down to a group of about 30 riders. He said the crash involving Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-Quickstep) – descending the Passo San Valentino with about 25km to go – occurred just behind him.

Roche guided Bardet into the base of the final climb before riding to the finish himself. However, Bardet faltered a little on the climb as he had an upset stomach; losing time to some GC rivals but gaining on others. Overall, Bardet was disappointed as he is now further away from the Giro podium.

You can read Roche's Giro Diary in the Irish Independent today by following this link. It is being published every day.