Lighter but aiming to be a heavyweight

CYCLING TOUR DE FRANCE: Shane Stokestalks to Ireland's Nicolas Roche who, as his team's leader, is more self-assured for this edition than before his first Tour last year, and is aiming for a top-15 finish

AS MUCH as cycling visually signifies the race leader with a yellow jersey, and highlights the best sprinter with the green, there’s another item that’s worn which heralds a rider’s standing with the team. Instantly recognisable, a race number ending with the number one shows the competitor in question is the squad’s best chance of success, the most protected of its members.

At today’s start in Rotterdam, defending champion Alberto Contador will wear the single digit “1” as the winner of last year’s Tour. He’s the undisputed top dog, the “grand patron”, at least at the start of the race. His team-mates will wear the numbers two down to nine.

The riders who were second and third last year in Paris, Andy Schleck and Lance Armstrong, will be awarded the numbers 11 and 21. And so it continues down the peloton, although the allocation of numbers for the latter teams does not necessarily relate to how they performed in 2009.

What’s important though is Nicolas Roche will also be wearing a dossard ending with the number one. Twelve months ago, he was the last rider selected for his Ag2r La Mondiale team, the one least certain of being picked. It took a win in the national road race championships to seal his place on the nine-man squad. But this time round, he was one of the first three to get the nod. Even better, he was then named this week as being its absolute captain.

At 26 years of age, in his second Tour de France, the Irishman will now be one of the protected riders in the peloton. He earned that vote of approval partly due to his solid ride 12 months ago, and also because of the results gained in the first half of this season. He’s made strong progress, and Ag2r La Mondiale’s trust in him is fully warranted.

Roche has done what he can to move up a level. He’s yet to land the big win he’s aiming for, but there’s a clear change in his outlook and poise since last summer. While he remains friendly and approachable, the rider is noticeably more self-assured than before, and certainly more focused. He dieted over the winter in order to shed the extra couple of kilograms that was holding him back on the climbs and with his weight pared down below 70 kilos, he’s ready for the high mountains.

He's trained hard, raced well, and now expects more from himself. The net result is he will line out in his second Tour today with clear goals in mind. "Realistically, I would like to be about top 15," he told The Irish Timesthis week, speaking from the team hotel in Rotterdam. "And of course if I can get a stage win along the way, I won't say no to that either."

Grabbing a stage win would be a huge boost to his career, but it is something he is certainly capable of. Roche ran close to that goal last year, finishing second to Russia’s Sergei Ivanov on the 14th stage to Besançon. He was then fourth on the 16th leg to Bourg-Saint-Maurice, but went even closer to the victory there.

How can fourth be closer than second? Well, at the end of the mountainous stage, Roche was in a quartet racing hard to try to get back in contact with the four leading riders. Just before the junction was made, with approximately two kilometres remaining, the Basque rider, Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel Euskadi), clipped away, put his head down and soloed to victory.

Roche was the fastest sprinter of those behind, and looked poised to take second place until his chain slipped in the gallop to the line. The fact the runner-up slot was lost was disappointing, but the significance of that became clear 10 days later when the victor was announced as positive for EPO. Had Roche not had the mechanical problem, he would have been crowned the stage victor after Astarloza’s disqualification.

In all, Roche took six high placings in last year’s race; second, fourth (upgraded to third), eighth, eighth, 10th and 12th, as well as an impressive 23rd overall. He was also fifth in the best young rider rankings and sixth in the points classification.

This time round, he said he will be a bit more sparing with his energy, striking hard on the days that count and holding back in the bunch sprints.

“This year we have Lloyd Mondory and Martin Elmiger who are there for the sprints. They will do their thing and I will do mine,” he said, talking about his French and Swiss team-mates. “It is a conscious decision to save energy. Okay, if we arrive in a 40-man group and I am in there, I might go and sprint. But it’s only if I am in the position to get a big result again.”

Instead of digging in deep to get into position for the gallops, then using the last dregs of energy in the dash for the line, he’ll hold back in order to have more to give in the high mountains.

Being lighter is one thing which will give him confidence in that regard, and so too the progress he has made this year in stage races. He highlighted his improved form when he was twice third on stages and 10th overall in Paris-Nice, with one of those high-stage placings coming after he jumped clear on a steep climb and sparked off the winning move. He followed that up with fifth overall in the Volta a Catalunya, a strong ride in the Ardennes Classics, and then third and ninth on stages of the Tour de Romandie.

Being named as the team leader is a reward for that, and also for his rapid return to form after a torn hamstring suffered in the latter race.

“It’s another part of the evolution,” said Roche, referring to the team’s show of faith in him. “I was happy with that. It is extra pressure, of course, but extra motivation as well. I’m definitely stronger this year. I have shown it through the whole season. I have raced differently and everything. I think I am ready now . . . I just have to stay focused and hope that things go right.”

In his second Tour, Roche doesn’t expect to match the top favourites. He names last year’s top three – Contador, Schleck and Armstrong – as those most likely to fight it out for the yellow jersey. There are others such as Frank Schleck, world champion Cadel Evans and Britain’s Bradley Wiggins who should also be in the tussle, and those favourites who don’t finish on the podium will likely fill the top 10.

All things going to plan, the Italy-based Irishman sees himself in the next tier of riders. He’s still developing and so a top-15 overall finish would be a very commendable result.

So too a stage win, although that also requires an element of luck.

What he’s determined to do is to make some sort of strong impression on the race, both for himself and for those who are following his progress. “I know that a lot of people are interested in what is going to happen on the Tour,” he said, realising while Ireland is not a major cycling nation, that he has plenty of support.

“I will be looking forward to seeing some of them on the roadside as well. I know there are a lot of expectations back home. I’ll try to not to disappoint on that part.”

If he needs additional motivation, he simply has to look at his race number, note the number one. Leading a team in his second Tour is a very positive step; this time 12 months, he wants to have progressed even further, to have set and achieved even bigger goals.