Nicolas Roche has kicked off his season at the Volta A la Communicat Valenciana (2.1) and Sean Kelly reckons the move to BMC Racing Team could give the reigning national road and time-trial champion more years at the top level, provided he has the hunger.
By Brian Canty
Irish cycling Sean Kelly has said Nicolas Roche’s move to BMC Racing is a good one on a number of levels.
But he added Irish champion Roche will now face the challenge all athletes do as they get slightly older; staying hungry.
Roche, 32, left the scandal-hit Team Sky at the end of last year and joined another of the sport’s top teams.
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He raced for the first time this year today at the Volta A la Communicat Valenciana (2.1), a five-day event that kicked off with a 38-kilometre team time-trial which Roche's BMC team won.
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“It’s good he’s got away from Team Sky with the spotlight on them for the last number of months,” said Kelly in relation to Roche’s new home.
“The deal was done and dusted long before the end of the season. The move was good because the roster at Sky has gotten so bloody strong.
"He was always going to have difficulty getting into the big tours but with BMC the opportunity for more big tours is on the cards.”
Kelly reckons hunger becomes a problem as you get older.
“I think BMC will be good. It’s a change of colour and personnel and that is always good.
“If he has a good big tour like France then he could do 2-3 more years no problem but the question is how hungry is he?
“It’s always a question as you get further into your career. You can sometimes lose that hunger to continue and to really push to be in shape and be ready for big tours.”
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