In an in-depth interview Nicolas Roche talks us through how he recovers from the Tour de France and prepares for the Vuelta; doing both in a matter of weeks (Photo: Caroline Kerley)
Nicolas Roche training between Tour and Vuelta
Nicolas Roche has outlined the delicate balancing acting and training schedule needed to recover from the Tour de France and to prepare for the Vuelta, all within a four week period.
The BMC Racing man, who was part of the Vuelta stage 1 TTT win in Nimes yesterday, said he was back training hard just four days after the Tour ended.
And since then he’s been at altitude “keeping the pressure on” himself with two eyes fixed firmly on this Vuelta.
While he would love another stage victory on the race, he said he’ll “hang in there” in the general classification race; at least in the very early days of the race.
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In a detailed interview with stickybottle about his training regime between the Tour and Vuelta, Roche said he was a rider who didn’t like, or didn’t need, much time away from the bike.
He believes he has prepared well having ridden the Tour de France, then San Sebastian six days later and trained at altitude since then.
“When you go up to altitude you are obviously trying to prepare the best way you can,” he said.
“But you’re always trying to find the right balance between recovery from the Tour and keeping the pressure on for the Vuelta.
“You have to be aware that you need to be fresh going into a race of three weeks.”
A pro cyclist now 13 years, Nicolas Roche has clearly learned many lessons about how to get his preparation right.
He said he has made small changes as his career has progressed.
For example, at the conclusion of the Tour de France he will now spend two days in Paris; recovering and enjoying some time with his wife.
“It doesn’t mean you walk the length of a marathon around Paris or you go to McDonalds,” he said.
“But you are having down time and family time and you focus on that. You walk around, have a coffee, a nice few meals and forget about it for 48 hours.
“You’ve had three hard weeks and the period getting ready for the Tour, which is in months.”
This year he stayed on and went to the U2 concert in Stade de France the Tuesday after the Tour ended.
And with the team having taken all of the riders’ bikes away from the Tour de France end; he said he knew he would be forced to rest even if he felt like going out training.
He flew back home to Monaco on the Wednesday morning after the Tour.
And to try and extend his break from the bike to three days, he didn’t go training immediately he got home. Instead he opted to go for a ride much later than normal; 7.30pm.
“Then on the Thursday I did a good hard four hours to open (the body). And on Thursday night I was on the plane going to the San Sebastian; it’s all pretty quick.”
However, while some riders enjoy a total break from the bike, Roche said he loved being out cycling. Because of that, he rarely craved or felt he needed a complete break from cycling.
“I even love at times to do 1½ hours or even an hour; roll down to the local cafe and have a cappuccino and then head back home,” he said.
“You can’t call it training but I just like to be on the bike. I’d usually catch up with a mate for a chat; more of a social thing.”
He said he took one day off roughly every 10 days. But he would rather have two or three easier days than a complete break from cycling even for one day.
“I’d rarely take two days off, only when I’m sick or after the Tour,” he said.
With altitude training he took the same approach; making changes based on how he felt and on his experience after 13 years in the pro peloton.
It means while he goes to altitude with a training block plan worked out in advance, his condition and his training load is a moveable feast.
Depending on how he feels, his training can be tweaked daily in conjunction with his coach. During a week at altitude before the Vuelta he did 32 hours over seven days on the bike.
He said of the week before last: “When I’m getting near to the Vuelta and I’ve already had five or six days of altitude training done you have to adapt your (training).
“So you might do shorter rides or you may train lower than what’s written in the training plan.”
Asked if his main fear at a training camp was training too hard or too easy, he laughed: “I can tell you, when you are at altitude at a training camp you will very quickly know if you’ve trained too hard or not.
“You don’t need anyone to look at your training files and tell you that you’ve trained too hard.
“When you’re doing that last climb back up to the hotel (to sleep at high altitude) you’ll know if you’ve overdone things that day.”
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And while his years of experience as a professional meant he now knew his body, he said that didn’t mean he got it right ever time.
But the key was to monitor fatigue and to be willing to adapt training load, even mid spin.
And while data was key to informing training, Nicolas Roche said he also took notice of how he felt and allowed his feelings feed into his training plans.
“There would be times when I’d send an email in the evening (to the team coach) and I’d say ‘well, I felt pretty tired today’.
“And the reply might be to stick to the plan; the same (efforts) but instead of doing five (hours) do four. Or maybe the decision is to do slower (efforts).
“But then the next morning after a while you fell you’ve recovered well and I’d decide to do the original harder ride after all.”
However, Roche said he was a rider that took months to get into his best shape. And even after the Tour de France he really needed to go and do a long and hard spin by Thursday of that week.
“If you don’t get a hard ride on the Thursday after the Tour and then you ride San Sebastian that Saturday; the race is just horrible for you. You feel big and bloated with sore legs.
“After that; obviously you haven’t exactly had a week of recovery (after the Tour) because San Sebastian is in that week and it’s a hard 6½ hour race. But it’s semi recovery.
“Following San Sebastian I usually have one or two easier days. Then I was back into a four or five day training block; then an easier day and back up to altitude for the next block of seven or eight days.
“The time goes by very, very quickly. For us it’s not even four weeks between the Tour and the Vuelta because I’m here (in Vuelta start town Nimes) since Wednesday.”
In the week between San Sebastian and going to altitude to train for the Vuelta, he rode two criteriums in France.
“That’s become a tradition now; I’ve been doing it since 2012. It helps to keep that bit of pressure on the legs midweek.
“I was really nice this year because I had my sister Christel and her husband Nathan and their baby Kailo to visit me the same week. I hadn’t seen Christel since last November.”
Turning to the Vuelta; it is a race that has been very good to Nicolas Roche. He won stage 2 in 2013 and took the leader’s red jersey.
And while he would relinquish it after a day, he would swap the points jersey for the climbers’ jersey and the combined classification lead.
Two years later, in 2015, he would win stage 17 when riding for Team Sky.
“It takes me eight months to get going,” he joked when asked what it was about the Vuelta that suited him so well.
“If the Tour was in August I’d love it even more. Even when I was younger I always went very well in the summer.
“And I need the heat; I perform much better in the heat. But it always takes me a lot of time during the year to get my weight down. It’s the same battle every year for me.
“And it’s not just about being lean; because I am lean. But for me to be a climber; I’ve been a wanna be climber. I should have been a classics rider.
“For me to be climbing with the top guys; I need to be super lean. And I always need that extra few months.
“If I could be in this form in April, I’d be flying right away and would have been a different rider.
“But it always takes me seven or eight months into the year to get me into this shape. I’m happy; at least once a year I’m in this shape!”
He said winning his stages at the Vuelta was very important for his career.
“The Vuelta wins were unbelievable. I could have been done and got that first Grand Tour stage win in 2008. But I was beaten by Erviti,” he said of stage 17 and being pipped by Imanol Erviti, then of Caisse d'Epargne.
“I could have had that done and dusted by the age of 24 but I had to wait for five more years,” he joked. “And it’s the same in the Tour; I was 2nd on a stage in 2009.”
While he felt he had trained well of late, Nicolas Roche said he would not know his level of fitness for racing until tomorrow’s first mountain stage.
The early indications are good; his helping BMC Racing to TTT victory securing him the climbers’ jersey. And he held it today, on a stage with no categorised climbs.
However, he was disappointed to lose some time today and slip from 3rd to 5th overall.
“You can't say the QuickStep movement was a surprise. We knew something was going to happen," he said of the Belgian team creating small splits in the final 2km.
"I was surprised by the time gaps. I didn't think there was going to be splits. This morning, we knew Quick Step were gonna lead the day.
"Actually, we thought Trentin was going to be the sprinter, but it was Lampaert. Today was a bit disappointing.
"I rode very well all day, coming into the sprint I was in the 13th, 14th position to be on the mix. Finally, I got caught up.
"I was thinking to ride for the jersey tomorrow, but now it won't happen."
However, "the Vuelta is long" and while disappointed with today he would see how the race unfolded tomorrow.
In the Tour de France, he said he felt great during the first week. But in the second week his form was “really disappointing and not where it should have been,” for no clear reason.
“The good thing about this Vuelta is that the first mountain stage is Monday; you’ll quickly know if you’re GC. For now I’m going to hang in there.”
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