Nicolas Roche is in talks about joining Philip Deignan at Team Sky for next year as his current two-year deal with Saxo-Tinkoff nears an end (Photo: www.backumbrella.ie)
Nicolas Roche’s time at Tinkoff-Saxo is nearing an end, with the Irish rider in talks with a number of teams about where he will ride next year.
Roche joined his current team at the start of last year on a two-year deal and the next contract he will sign will not be with the Oleg Tinkoff-Bjarne Riss led outfit.
Speculation has been mounting that Roche will join Philip Deignan at Team Sky next year, where he would fill a similar role to the Donegal man; providing key support in the mountains for the team leaders on major stage races.
However, just as Deignan was given a freer hand in the Giro d’Italia to target results when the team’s general classification contender Richie Porte was withdrawn from the roster after a period of illness and lack of form, Roche would also be expected to have opportunities to target personal goals.
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Roche's finest hour with Tinkoff-Saxo thus far; celebrating his win at the summit of Alto do Monte da Groba on stage 2 of the Vuelta a Espana last year.
When Roche joined Tinkoff-Saxo from Ag2r-La Mondiale two years ago, he was in talks with Team Sky and very nearly signed for them.
Stickybottle understands his agent Andrew McQuaid has remained in contact with the team about Roche and other riders he represents, with discussions on Roche’s possible future with the squad very much active.
McQuaid also represents Deignan and organised his transfer to Team Sky last winter from Unitedhealthcare, where he rode for two years and regained the form he had shown earlier in his career.
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And Porte is also represented by McQuaid, who negotiated his deal with Dave Brailsford’s team.
When contacted by stickybottle about Roche, McQuaid said: "We are talking to a number of teams at the moment but nothing is confirmed yet."
If the transfer does go ahead, Roche would most likely play a support role for Chris Froome at the Tour de France next year, when the Briton will be aiming to win for a second time.
He would likely fill the same role for Porte at the Giro or Vuelta, where he won a stage last year, held the leader’s jersey and finished a Grand Tour career best of 5th overall.
However, that top five placing coupled with the fact that Roche is still only aged 30 years and has plenty of time left, means he may also lead a team into a Grand Tour again, as he did during his tenure at Ag2r-La Mondiale.
Roche endured a slower start to this year than he would have hoped, after a knee injury interrupted his training and racing plans. He then went to the Giro as co-leader of the squad to Rafa Majka, but a crash ended his hopes of a high overall placing.
However, once recovered from that spill he went on the attack, making his way into a number of key escapes and taking 4th on the penultimate stage up the feared Zoncolan climb, which team mate Michael Rogers won.
In the Tour de France, when team leader Alberto Contador crashed out, the team switched its focus to stage wins and took three; two with Majka and one with Australian Rogers.
Roche played a key role in those wins and also in helping Majka to win the polka dot jersey. Just before the Tour, the Irish man won a stage and the overall and points jersey at the Route du Sud.
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