Allez Roche Allez!
Jim Carroll
Another excellent performance by Nicolas Roche in his debut Tour de France. After two previous Top 10 finishes (including the runner-up spot at the weekend), Roche came in fourth today, six seconds behind Mikel Astarloza, after what was a tough day in the mountains and a dramatic 10km final sprint. Roche is now 30th overall and sixth in the green jersey points race.
Im just waiting for some performance enhancing disappointment to follow this! Have been following his tour, and he’s been flying – if anything, he’d being doing better in general classification/young rider classification if his team mate, Nocentini hadnt the yellow jersey for so long. Great performance, but its cycling, with all its associated problems, so can we really get excited about it?
yeah he looks a good prospect
One thing, of course, is that with a Roche doing well in the Tour, we’re back in 80s recessionville for sure!
Maillot Vert is Sean Kelly’s recessionary glory!!!!
Contador’s climb on Sunday was a touch suspicious? The young Roche speaks just like his da, whinily.
Speewah / Sponger – yeah, I know what you mean. On the one hand, it’s a thrilling spectacle, especially mad climbs and sprints like yesterday. On the other hand, well, you need to be super-human to put in those performances day in and day out. Pro-cycling has been sullied by its performance-enhancing shenanigans that you wonder can it ever recover.
ya feel the same myself when following TDF & have had discussions with friends who just tend to write it off with “sure there all on drugs”, or “sure the drugs their using can’t be detected” which I can understand.
But at the same time, I really want to have faith in these guys, becuase I’m sure there are clean, honest cyclists who are giving it socks everday, & to tar them all with the same brush is realy harsh.
Both Roche & his cousin Dan Martin are members of the ‘Bike Pure’ organisation, where they have publically committed to riding clean. I think/hope its unlikely these lads are up to anything. Why dont Contador, Schlek, Armstrong, etc become members also? Contador is a fraud…understandable that he would be good in the mountains with his small frame, but how can that frame produce the power to be winning time-trials?
http://www.bikepure.org/news_july_09.html
Disappointing tour so far besides Roche doing well. The radio ear pieces have taken all the fun and unpredictability out of it. Instead, the top 3 are happy to sit on each other’s wheels for pretty much most of the tour, relying on time trials and the odd mountain stage.
Today’s the last stage where the tour can be won or lost. Hopefully, someone takes a chance, the British rider Wiggins is looking good.
Paul Kimmage ruined cycling as a spectator sport for me
Despite the fact that a lot of the riders are almost certainly doped, I still get a serious thrill from watching a sprint finish or a quick break. Roll peloton, roll.
Has Roche decided whether he’s Irish or French yet?
andy c – I know, the optimist in me says they all can’t be at it
brendan – I’m sure Armstrong et al would say they don’t have to sign up to be pure etc etc
Paul Kimmage ruined cycling as a spectator sport for me
I really have to dig out his “Rough Ride” book
RH – he redeclared for Ireland a while back
http://www.cyclingnews.com/editions/first-edition-cycling-news-for-october-11-2005
@ Jim – Rough Ride is a tremendous read.
@RH – He is our National Champion so I guess that makes him Irish.
Watching the Tour de France live on http://www.tg4.tv in my office, its very useful. I’m brushing up on my cupla focal in the process….Lance an Lamhlaidir! Fair play to Nicolas Roche, 7th in the Youths and 30th overall.
Kimmage’s articles on cycling are always fascinating. Remember being struck by an article he wrote two or three years ago where he set about following a ‘clean’ rider’s experience of the TDF. He said he struggled to find one before settling for a lowly domestique.
Still despite the drugs, you can’t help but get excited watching the mountain stages. Crowds that are 15 deep, basque flags, race radio reporting one of the favourites going out the back door, and one of the contenders making their move.
I still get a serious thrill from watching a sprint finish or a quick break. Roll peloton, roll.
The lad might be a jerk, but watching the Columbia train go full out to give Cavendish his sprint finish is a thing of joy.
Delighted that Wiggins is doing so well, apart from his devotion to all things Paul Weller, he’s one of the soundest skins in cycling.
Bloody hell, I didn’t realise OTR was a hive of cycling fans. The things you learn from doing this blog…..
Watch the tour live with ace coverage in a Carrick accent at http://www.ustream.tv/channel-popup/dcb1t
+1 on the Columbia train Ivor, they lead him out so well.
I have to settle for BBC live text and TG4 highlights.
Bloody hell, I didn’t realise OTR was a hive of cycling fans. The things you learn from doing this blog…..
Worked on Le Tour the year it came to Ireland – a hoot! Six months of bureaucracy and long lunches in Dublin Castle and a cycle race at the end of it.
Roche did incredibly well considering it was his first Tour.
Yet I was disappointed that he didn’t get much in the Irish media – I was reading about the sheer adulation by the Irish fans in France compared with the rotten general coverage back at home on RTE news etc on http://irishherault.wordpress.com