Nicolas Roche will start his 15th Grand Tour this weekend when he lines up as part of the nine-man Team Sky squad for the Vuelta a Espana. This will be the Irishman's sixth time doing the Vuelta and his role will be to protect the interests of team leader Chris Froome who is chasing a Tour-Vuelta double.
Nicolas Roche has been named in Team Sky’s nine-man roster for the Vuelta A Espana which starts this Saturday in the Andalucian town of Puerto Banus.
The Irishman will be there to support Chris Froome who is bidding to become only the second Tour de France champion to win the Vuelta in the same year.
Team Sky have named a line-up stacked with experience, with Roche being the team’s second-in-command should accident or injury befall Froome.
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Roche is no stranger to doubling up and doing two Grand Tours back-to-back as he’s completed Giro d’Italia-Tour de France doubles on four previous occasions.
He usually goes well in the Vuelta and on his last attempt in 2013 he won a stage, wore the leader’s jersey and finished fifth overall.
Completing the line-up for the final Grand Tour of the season will be Geraint Thomas, Sergio Henao, Mikel Nieve, Vasil Kiryienka, Christian Knees, Ian Boswell and Salvatore Puccio.
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There was no place in the team for Roche’s fellow Irishman Philip Deignan and that'll come as a big blow to him as it means he won't have raced any Grand Tour this year, unlike last year where he did both the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta.
He's a former stage winner from as far back as 2009 but aside from a fifth overall in the Tour of Yorkshire this year, he's failed to land any big results.
He did help Chris Froome win the Criterium du Dauphiné back in June while in his most recent race, the Tour of Poland, he was 62nd overall having helped Mikel Nieve and Sergio Henao both finish inside the top 10.
Meanwhile, Dan Martin has been given a leadership role for the Vuelta by his Garmin Cannondale outfit.
The Irishman will be supported by American trio Joe Dombrowksi, Ben King and Andrew Talansky as well as Matej Mohoric and Andre Cordoso with the remaining three riders yet to be confirmed.
It’s expected to be one of Martin’s final races with the team as he looks set to join Belgian squad Etixx-QuickStep.
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