Nicolas Roche Discussion Thread

[forty four]

top ten in vuelta? i like the guy im hoping so what do others think of his chances?

 

[The Hitch]

Top 10 is possible. He might prefer to try for a maiden gt stage win though.

 

[ferryman]

Lovely guy and just getting better each grand tour. Still very young, I hope he gets a big win soon. Can see him top 10 this tour.

 

[The Hitch]

Lovely guy and just getting better each grand tour. Still very young, I hope he gets a big win soon. Can see him top 10 this tour.

Like Richie Porte, i think some people underestimate his age. Im not saying you do, but others on this forums have. He is 26, too old to go for young jerseys anymore.

 

[Sydney21]

I like him as a rider too. I think young refers to that his best is still ahead of him. Porte is a neo pro and hasn't been on the road for long and that usually prolongs the peak of a rider by a couple of years. But I think Roche would have been better off leaving Ag2R and Gadret to avoid french politics. He could have found himself a much better home at sky or somewhere else where he would recieve full support. Then again there would be British politics there too.

 

[Kwibus]

Like Richie Porte, i think some people underestimate his age. Im not saying you do, but others on this forums have. He is 26, too old to go for young jerseys anymore.

I agree, but regarding Roche it seems he's still getting better every year. So I expect him to get better next years.
Same with Porte. Plenty of reasons to think he will improve.

 

[forty four]

I like him as a rider too. I think young refers to that his best is still ahead of him. Porte is a neo pro and hasn't been on the road for long and that usually prolongs the peak of a rider by a couple of years. But I think Roche would have been better off leaving Ag2R and Gadret to avoid french politics. He could have found himself a much better home at sky or somewhere else where he would recieve full support. Then again there would be British politics there too.

yeah i think he probably would be better off with another team.

 

[theyoungest]

I like him as a rider too. I think young refers to that his best is still ahead of him. Porte is a neo pro and hasn't been on the road for long and that usually prolongs the peak of a rider by a couple of years. But I think Roche would have been better off leaving Ag2R and Gadret to avoid french politics. He could have found himself a much better home at sky or somewhere else where he would recieve full support. Then again there would be British politics there too.

Yeah, Sky, where they take strong riders and make them invisible!
Gadret is an a-hole, you'll find those guys everywhere, but the AG2R team management fully supports Roche and I doubt he'll find another team where he can be the leader in pretty much any race he wants.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

yeah i think he probably would be better off with another team.

I'm not sure about that. I think Ag2r is about the biggest team he could reasonably hope to be the main team leader of at this stage in his career. Almost anywhere else he'd either have worse teammates (smaller teams) or would be mostly riding for someone else (bigger teams).

Sky is a possible exception, as a big team with a gaping hole when it comes to GC riders, but only because Wiggins had such a poor Tour.

 

[CheeseHead]

yeah i think he probably would be better off with another team.

What makes yo think so? I think Roche is right at home with Ag2R. His father Stephen lives in Southern France since his carreer ended and has a restaurant in Villeneuve-Loubet.

http://www.rochemarinahotel.com/indexUK.asp

Nicolas grew up there as well, so he's quite adapted to French culture and people. Besides, the clash between Gadret and Roche rather seems to be an argument between Gadret and A2gR. Lavenue is in defence of Nicolas and surely will make sure the incident won't happen again (Gadret could be send to the Giro, for instance).

Anyway.. just joined the forum

 

[Faserr]

I really like his attitude. He is a strong rider and he is always sprinting or fighting for a good result.
Hope he finishes well at the Vuelta.

 

[simo1733]

Star quality

I think Nico Roche has star quality. He is just the type of rider Team Sky should be chasing. He could lose a few kg if he wants to win a GTthough

 

[nevada]

I think Nico Roche has star quality. He is just the type of rider Team Sky should be chasing. He could lose a few kg if he wants to win a GTthough

Probably a bit cheaper than Wiggo too.

 

[The Hitch]

I think Nico Roche has star quality. He is just the type of rider Team Sky should be chasing. He could lose a few kg if he wants to win a GTthough

I think atm Nico Roche winning a gt, however much weight he loses, is a stretch. I think going for classics suits him more.

 

[Parrulo]

roche is one of my favorite riders in the peloton atm. a really nice guy and is good to watch. i hope he gets a top 10 in this vuelta with a nice stage win to pump him for next year. maybe he should try to ride the giro/vuelta duo to gain experience, but since he is on a french team and is their only hope for a top 10 i doubt it will happen even tho it may not be the best option for his development.

 

[hrotha]

I think atm Nico Roche winning a gt, however much weight he loses, is a stretch. I think going for classics suits him more.

Yeah, if he keeps improving I could see him getting a lucky podium sometime, maybe, but not much beyond that. Kind of like Van den Broeck to be honest. Still, I like him, he's an interesting rider.

 

[maltiv]

I think atm Nico Roche winning a gt, however much weight he loses, is a stretch. I think going for classics suits him more.

Better than the current GC riders Sky has, and he would definitely be a much needed captain for the hilly classics. So I was really surprised Sky didn't manage to sign him for 2011.

 

[simo1733]

Classic

I think atm Nico Roche winning a gt, however much weight he loses, is a stretch. I think going for classics suits him more.

I think you are right he has better classic potential.At the moment he seems to have a go at everything.He might be better chasing stg wins in the GT's instead of killing himself for a top ten.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

I think atm Nico Roche winning a gt, however much weight he loses, is a stretch.

agreed. Maybe one day, like his father, can win the vuelta - if all the stars align properly that is.

I suspect he will rack up a few top ten places in the tour.

I kinda get a similar prospect vibe with him and hesj. Not huge GT prospects, but both have a lot of heart, and can be amongst it, but never good enough.

 

[Kellys Big Sprocket]

Like a bottle of quality red Roche is improving with age and this has been very evident over the last two seasons. His mental and physical strength is there to see. Will finish in top 10 and have a few shots at a few of the fourthcoming stages. Needs a stronger servant or two to make it all happen.

With regards to next season he needs a team orientated towards to the classics !!

Agree with The Hitch think his potential lies in the Classics. Just like Kelly just needs that first classic scalp to open the flood gates. Think Kelly was 27 when he took the 83 Lombardy. This is where Roches future lies.

 

[ttrider]

Really like him, how can you not love his comment about a small scrawny french climber being launched out of a bus and him being guilty, leave him where he is hes developing fine with low pressure and supportive people, he ll never win big but he ll top 10 in tour and top 5 in Vuelta

 

[aahmadhu]

i think he fits the bill of a GT animator. climbs well, sprints well, aggressive in breakaways. some areas of his riding style still need polishing though. if developed correctly, we could see a new vinokourov i.e. not a main GT contender, but still up there giving headache to the big guys. don't u think?

 

[Armchair cyclist]

I think we've just added a couple of dozen votes for Nico's inclusion in the universally popular major rider thread

And to refer back to another previous thread, here is his latest Irish Independent piece,dealing with Txema and stages 8 and 9.

 

[forty four]

hmmm well everyone to some degree likes and/or respects the guy as i do. to be honest i care more about good personalities than i do wins such as people like voight ogrady sastre etc... but its even better when people i like do well which they often do. mental state and heart generally take a back seat to vo2 max etc.. with regards to cycling in this day and age. but none the less the sufferers are the riders i respect the most and are the more complete athletes if general physical ability was concerned.

 

[Highlander]

Nicolas Roche is great because he got me a ton of points in my Tour fantasy team. He had a fair number of top 20 finishes, which usually got me something. My favorite day had to be stage 10 into Gap when he broke away from the peloton and rode in by himself. There really wasn't any need to do this because he had no chance of catching the breakaway and only took back about 1 minute. However, it did show that he has the right mentality for these races.