Roche's biggest moments with Tinkoff-Saxo came on the Vuelta last year when he took the leader's red jersey and also won a stage. Now a new chapter starts with Team Sky.
Nicolas Roche has ended months of speculation on his future in the pro game, with confirmation this morning that he is to join Team Sky.
He leaves Tinkoff-Saxo after two years with that squad and will join up with fellow Irishman Philip Deignan on what is arguably the biggest team in the world.
The move was confirmed by the British WorldTour team in a statement this morning, but was flagged by stickybottle months ago.
The statement from the squad was published on its website and said:
With 13 Grand Tour appearances to him name Nicolas has experience in abundance and will significantly add to the team’s firepower on the climbs.
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Joining fellow Irishman Philip Deignan at Team Sky, Roche is an attacking rider capable of racing hard for a team-mate or as a GC contender in his own right.
In 2013 he finished an impressive fifth place at the Vuelta a Espana. This year he claimed victory in the Route du Sud and claimed a fifth place finish in the 2014 Tour of Britain.
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On signing a contract with Team Sky, Nicolas Roche said: "It’s a great honour to sign for Team Sky and I have the opportunity to ride with some of the best riders in the world.
"I feel that I’m still developing as a rider so now’s the perfect time to join Team Sky and to continue my upwards path. I’m confident that under the guidance of Sir Dave Brailsford and the team, I’ll continue to improve."
Brailsford added: "Nicolas joins us from Tinkoff-Saxo and becomes the second Irish rider in Team Sky. He brings a wealth of experience, having ridden 13 Grand Tours in his career, and that will be invaluable to the team.
"Nicolas has the perfect character and temperament for us and we expect him to play a key role next season."
Roche was one of five riders confirmed this morning as joining Team Sky. The others are Andrew Fenn, Leopold König, Lars Petter Nordhaug and Wout Poels.
Fenn, who joins from Omega Pharma-Quickstep, is a former An Post-Chainreaction rider and he is Sky’s first Scottish signing. König joins from NetApp-Endura where he was a team mate of Irish rider Sam Bennett.
More later.
Big Moment: Always hugely popular in Ireland, Roche got a great welcome from the crowd in Belfast at the Giro team presentation back in May. He will now ride those races in the colours of Team Sky (Photo: Toby Watson)
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