Nicolas Roche starts the Giro d’Italia tomorrow, the 24th
Grand Tour of his career, in good form and determined to ride well for Team DSM
towards the goal of placing a rider on the final podium.
“I think I’m in decent shape now,” he said when asked about
his strong ride at the Tour of the Alps, especially as he tends to go better as
the season continues.
“Obviously your training changes when you are trying to
be in shape for May or June and not for July. But I was racing well and I
really enjoyed the last stage,” he explained of the final day when he and Alessandro
De Marchi (Israel Start-Up Nation) stayed just ahead of the bunch in the final
kilometres to take 2nd and 3rd.
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“And that wasn’t just because of the result, it was
because I like to race the way that stage went. I like to be part of the
breakaway and then it got tactical and you had to have the legs to continue in
the breakaway…
“You get the adrenaline going in a situation like that so it was really good to get stuck into it. I’ve raced very little this year until now so it was important for my head to get in the breakaways on a few days. And on one of the stages I went in the bunch sprint and that went OK, so it was good.”
At the end of the final stage it was clear that Roche and
De Marchi had really enjoyed the challenge of trying to stay away and getting
one over on the bunch. And in the post-stage interview the Irish rider was
clearly pleased with the manner he raced and seemed in very good form mentally.
Asked if it was an over-analysis to say he appeared to be
enjoying his racing more now, Roche said while he had had some issues in his
life in 2018, in the period since then he was enjoying his racing as much as
ever.
“I’m not sure if I’m happier or not (now) than the last couple of years… I know 2018 was obviously a difficult year for me but the last couple of years it’s been about enjoying my racing,” he said.
“And last year I was really active in the Tour, and the previous year as well, and also going for it at the Vuelta. I think it’s just that as the years go by, my passion for it doesn’t go down. So, yeah, if I get in the breakaway I’m still racing like a 25-year-old."
Roche's Team DSM has Jai Hindley, left, and Romain Bardet as GC options in this Giro. However, the Irish rider says his commitment will be 100 per cent irrespective of who emerges as team leader
Roche continued: “My head is still like a 25-year-old’s, it’s just the body that is ageing. But I still get the same adrenaline now, the same will to go in the breakaways. Just now, for example… maybe one of the things that’s changed over the years is the risk-taking.
“If I’m not 100 per cent in shape and not 100 per cent
going for it, I’m a little more, let’s say, tolerant of my risk taking. When I
was good (in the finale of the Tour of the Alps final stage) and I had to take
all the risks on the descent, I could still do it.
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“But a lot of the time, maybe if I’m not in top shape or
when my job is done (in a race) I’m not going to take risks for nothing because
in the last three years I’ve been hit by some crashes. I’ve probably done more
damage to my body in the last three years than I did in the while 15 years
before.
“So it’s important to pick the moment (to take risks). But definitely, my enthusiasm hasn’t dropped back. Like everyone, there are some days for me when it’s harder than others. But if I want to go racing and I can go for it, I still get excited about that kind of racing.”
Roche said he felt confident going into the Giro but
explained he it would be hard in the very high mountains, though he felt he
would do a strong job for the team on “mid mountain stages and the rolling
stages”.
“The atmosphere in the team is very good, we had a really
good training camp and the preparation generally leading up to the Giro has
been great; everyone is just excited to get going now,” he said.
While Jai Hindley, who was 2nd overall in the Giro last
year, and new Team DSM signing Romain Bardet are both in the line-up and both
are obvious general classification riders, Roche said it wasn’t yet certain who
the team would be riding for.
The main goal was that the team’s jersey would be on the podium at the race and as the event unfolded the riders would all work towards that goal. In reality, Roche said it would make little difference who the team ended up riding for, saying it he would be fully committed whoever the leader was.
“This time around I’m pretty excited and I can’t wait.
The Giro hasn’t really been my race and while I’m not going there with my own
GC goals, my own goals are quite different, I’m going there with the will to
have a good Giro and to come out with a smile.
“It will be no more stress if it’s Bardet and it’s the
same kind of stress if it’s Jai, or whoever it is. When we go with a big GC
position, it’s stress.
“And I went to get rid of this bad idea that I haven’t performed at this race the way I’ve wanted to and, over the years, I’ve tried to avoid it. I want to go there and do a good Giro; remember I did a proper Giro and be among all the excitement and be there for the team in support of GC. So I’m looking forward to what’s coming up.”
Roche said when he began his career, and specifically
when he rode his first Giro in 2007, he remembers more of the stars of the race
being Italian. However, he wasn’t sure if that was because the race was more
international now or if there were more Italian riders at the top of pro
cycling in his early years.
However, he said the race became more international when
the World Tour was created and all teams were obliged to ride the Giro. But he
also felt cycling had become more international generally down the years; with
some nations having climbed the pecking order and top riders now coming out of
more countries than ever before.
“Just look at the Brits, for example. There was no Brits
in the Giro in 2007, or maybe there was Charles Wegelius? But now there’s 25 Brits
at the start of these races. So that’s the easiest example. And now we have
maybe five or six Irish riders (at a high level) but in 2007 there was myself
and Philip (Deignan). There’s a lot more diversity in nationalities now.”
Asked if he would also ride the Tour this year he joked: “At
the moment, let me start the Giro and we’ll see what happens after.”
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