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If you blinked you may have missed the moment, but stage 2 of the Tour de France featured a nice piece of Irish cycling history; a Roche once again leading the way on Col d'Èze.
In the 1980s if your name wasn't Kelly or Roche you didn't get much loving up the climb when it featured on the often decisive TT stage at Paris-Nice.
Stephen Roche rocked up in 1981 as a fresh-faced Dublin tradesman just turned full-time bike rider to win Paris-Nice overall in his first season as a pro; taking the TT up Col d'Èze in the process.
It was the Peugeot -Esso-Michelin rider's first month as a professional and yet he was taking his second stage race victory. His first had come just weeks earlier at Tour de Corse where his team mate Michel Laurent and already two-time Tour de France winner Bernard Hinault completed the podium.
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That he would be successful quickly came as no surprise to those in the know; Roche having won the Espoirs Paris-Roubaix a year earlier despite the event being the first time he'd even seen pavé let alone raced on it.
After Roche's Paris-Nice win in 1981, compatriot Sean Kelly won the race for the next seven years in a row; a simply staggering run.
Between 1981 and 1989 Roche won the TT four times and Kelly claimed it on five occasions. In the middle of the period, 1984 and 1985 to be precise, Kelly and Roche were 1st and 2nd overall and in the Paris-Nice TT.
Even when Kelly’s run of overall wins was ended by Miguel Indurain in 1989, Roche still won the TT on his way to 2nd overall behind Big Mig.
So on Sunday when Nicolas Roche took maximum climbers' points going over the top of the ascent, his father was reflecting back on Ireland's glory days on the climb.
"I'm not sure Nico was thinking of the 1980s or thinking of me when he led over the climb to be honest, but it was a great thing to do and it was a great place for myself and Sean back in our day," Stephen told stickybottle.
"I know Nicolas had a good few friends on the climb just before the top there on Sunday; some of his old friends from his school days and my sister was there, as well as Eddie Jordan and a few others," he explained.
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"So Nicolas knew they'd be there and it was nice for him to get up there and perform, to show himself like that. Nico is a crowd pleaser and he would have wanted to get up there for those friends who'd come out to see him; pretty cool that he could do that."
Nicolas confirmed his father's account, saying the climb was important to him as he grew up, and currently lives, in the region.
“It was symbolic for me,” he said. “I live down the road
from it and it’s one of my favourite climbs anyway. I had a lot of friends
about 1km before the top cheering me on.
“It wasn’t a tribute (to Stephen) but, yes, Col d'Èze is
part of the family heritage, it’s something special in the family.
“And, you’d never know if those five (climbers’) points
might come in handy over the next three weeks. Though obviously I won’t go too
far on just five points!”
Stephen said while his and Sean Kelly’s exploits on the
climb were a long time ago, their times from the 1980s up Col d'Èze compared
very favourably for years with the riders who followed in their footsteps.
“I broke the record at the time (in 1981) and it had been held by Raymond Poulidor and then Sean came along and got my record and then he held that for a long time, really until years later.
“And then even when Bradley Wiggins set the record only
in recent years, it was a different type of race. Back then we’d be using it as
a preparation race but in more recent times it’s something the professionals
would target, it would be a big goal for a lot of them and they’d prepare for
it.
“So if you think of those changes through the years and
then the bikes and the kit we had compared to what the guys have now, I think
we did OK. It is incredible to think back to those years with myself and Sean
and it was nice to see Nico up there the other day.
“And of course it wasn’t just myself and Sean at the
time; we also had Paul (Kimmage) and Martin (Earley) with us. And those two
also raced at a very high level.
“So I always like to think that because of the four of us racing back then; that led to Nico and a bit later Dan (Martin) and now you have a new group with Sam Bennett and Eddie Dunbar and others. So it's great to think that the Irish tradition in cycling is continuing like that."
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