So, while his climbing is clearly improving, he needs to become stronger in the race against the clock if he is to fight for the podium in the Grand Tours. One thing he can do to gain is to get a time trial bike to use at home; surprisingly, he doesn’t yet have this, even though many of the sport’s top time trialists regularly train on their machines in order to get used to the more extreme position.
Roche knows that this is something he needs to ensure is corrected by the Ag2r La Mondiale squad. “I think it is one of the most important details to help progress, to have a TT bike at home. I think most of the riders do,” he said. “French teams are not the best for that yet, though. But, slowly and surely…”