Ireland's Nicolas Roche and his BMC Racing team power to Vuelta TTT stage victory. Nicolas Roche is a man for the big gears and he says that approached worked well this evening. He says he's in good shape and ready for the next three weeks.
Nicolas Roche on Vuelta stage, big gears for TT
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Nicolas Roche has expressed his excitement for the Vuelta over the next three weeks having won the TTT stage this evening.
The Irish rider, and now a three-time Vuelta stage winner, was part of the BMC Racing that claimed victory in the 13.7km team TT that got the race underway this evening.
And as he was third of the team across the line, he picked up the climbers’ jersey. His team mates Dennis Rohan and Daniel Oss were first and second across the finish line and so they have the leader’s and points jersey respectively.
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After the finish Nicolas Roche was clearly delighted with how his ride had gone.
“I end up with the climbers' jersey but the main goal this morning was all about getting the team to cross the line with the best time,” he said.
“It's amazing to be once again on the podium of La Vuelta. It's great.”
Nicolas Roche at last night's presentation that always unfolds on the eve of the Vuelta (Photo: Jennifer Lafarge)
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Roche said he tended to opt for big gears when riding against the watch. And he believed this evening’s course really suit that style.
“I do all time trials with a 58 ring, not just today,” he said. “I didn't spend the whole stage on the 11!
“It was a good pick because I had to do the drag down on the back of the course. I could keep the speed on the downhill. It worked out pretty good.
“It makes three stage wins for me at La Vuelta,” he said in reference to his wins in 2013, when he also lead the race, and 2015.
“I've also lost a lot of them by a few places,” he added of some near misses.
The Irishman said he would take a wait and see approach to riding for general classification. But for now he was counting himself into the overall battle.
“I'm going to give it a proper go. The good thing with La Vuelta is that you don't have to wait for ten days to see if your legs are there or not.
“On Monday, we'll have an idea already,” he added of the first mountain stage of the race on stage 3.
“It'll be important with the team to see where everybody is at, if it's worth to fight for stages or for GC.
“I came in a decent condition. I did everything I could to recover after the Tour. I'm excited about this race.”
And the man who leads the race, Rohan Dennis, said he and Roche and the rest of the team had to really bury themselves today to win.
“Everything went according to our plan,” said Australian TT specialist Dennis.
“We were a bit nervous when Sky came, I thought that maybe we'd lose it on the line but we came off as the strongest team.
“The circuit was very technical. We needed everything to win it. We showed our true power in the team time-trial.
“It feels great to have the red jersey. I feel like it's an achievement but at the same time the whole team won.
“And I'm the only one who gets to wear (the leader’s jersey). That's the only downfall.”
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