Nicolas Roche & Dan Martin can look forward to Tour de France with confidence after strong Swiss showing

Gavin McLoughlin

Nicolas Roche and Dan Martin concluded their fine Tours de Suisse with a pair of solid performances in the final day time-trial today, Sunday.

Both Irishmen managed to finish the race in the top 15 on general classification, with Martin 8^th and Roche in 15^th.

Liège-Bastogne-Liège winner Martin completed an arduous 27 kilometre time-trial in 53:28 to take 12^th place on the day. The Garmin-Sharp man’s top-10 finish confirms that he is in formidable shape ahead of the Tour de France.

Aggressive in the early days of this race and strong on the ascents throughout, expect plenty of fireworks from Martin at Le Tour.

Nicolas Roche today went around the course in 54:09, netting him 24^th on the stage. He had been the perfect teammate at this race, performing very well in support of both Roman Kreuziger and one-time nemesis Daniele Bennati.

The Irishman had raced sparsely prior to this event but a 15^th place finish proves his condition is progressing nicely. Roche is certain to be a key lieutenant of Alberto Contador at Le Tour, and will surely hope to receive a chance to lead the Saxo-Tinkoff team at the Vuelta a Espana in August.

It was a scorching day in eastern Switzerland this morning, the hottest of this nine-day race. On paper, the 27-kilometre course looked like it should suit the strengths of the Irish duo. The first 17 kilometres were pancake-flat, but the riders would then be forced to tackle a punishing 10 kilometre ascent to the Flumserberg ski resort.

Historically, neither Irishman has been strong in flat time-trials, so the inclusion of that climb was a welcome boost to their prospects.

The race organisers estimated that the average time would be approximately 45 minutes, but this ultimately proved an underestimation of the stage’s difficulty. The strategy of most was to complete the flat section on a time-trial bike, before switching to the far-lighter road bike for the climb.

Martin took a sort of middle path, switching to a road bike with clipped-on time-trial handlebars. Hunched over in the aerodynamic position and spinning a ferocious cadence up the climb, Martin’s face betrayed his suffering as he dipped his shoulders with every pedal-stroke.

The eyes of most were on Mathias Frank’s attempt to hold onto yellow at his home race. Willed upward by the cheers and the chiming cowbells of the Swiss fans, the BMC man toiled hard all day. But as Frank progressed through each of the time checks it became clear that the leader’s jersey was slipping inexorably out of his grasp.

Strongest of all was defending champion Rui Alberto Costa (Movistar). Unfazed by a disastrously lengthy bike-change, Costa was a picture of determination, smoothly working his way up the steep slope.

The Portuguese had no equal today, ultimately crossing the line in 51:56 to take the stage win and a second consecutive overall title at the Tour de Suisse.

Roche and Martin can look forward to the Tour de France with much hope and anticipation. Both men look well-placed to leave an Irish imprint on the coming 100th edition of the greatest of races.

@gavmcloughlin