Nicolas Roche

He had a fine debut Tour, finishing in 23rd place overall and 5th in the points classification.

Nicolas Roche (born 3 July 1984) is an Irish cyclist, who competes in gravel cycling for his own NR GRVL team.

He lived in Dublin from 1996 to 1999, where he was educated at the Lycée Français d'Irlande in Foxrock for two years, and Blackrock College, a private school, for one year.

During this period he was a keen soccer and rugby player.

He moved to southern France in 1999, where he spent most of life since.

The loss of Roche was a blow to Irish cycling, as he had won the 2002 Junior Tour of Ireland and finished third in the 2004 Irish Elite championship.

However, six months later, the UCI and Cycling Ireland told Roche he was given incorrect information, and that he could compete for Ireland and keep his two nationalities, which he did.

During his first two years, he was often a domestique, but he did get a few good results, mostly in French Cup races.

He turned professional at the end of 2004, with team and became one of the youngest UCI ProTour racers.

As his father is Irish and his mother French, Roche had dual nationality as an amateur.

His first win as a professional was a stage in the 2004 Tour de l'Avenir, a race known as a mini-Tour de France for riders under 25.

He wore the yellow jersey for two days and finished tenth overall.

He is also a former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2005 and 2021 for seven different teams.

In early 2005, Roche was told by French officials to choose between his two nationalities.

Roche declared for France as he was planning to spend the rest of his life in France.

He was in major breakaway in the 2006 World championships in Salzburg, Austria.

Soon after, he signed a two-year contract with on the back of his many good results this season.

In 2007, Roche rode the Giro d'Italia.

In June, he won the Irish National Time Trial Championships (CN) in Dungarvan.

He came also fourth in the Road Race Championship.

Due to injury, Roche withdrew from the Tour of Ireland and missed the World Championship.

He represented Ireland at the Olympics on four occasions between 2008 and 2020, and represented Ireland at the UCI Road World Championships eleven times between 2006 and 2020.

Since retiring from road cycling at the end of the 2021 season, Roche has worked as a directeur sportif for UCI Continental team and as a commentator for the international television feed at the Tour de France alongside Anthony McCrossan.

Roche, who was born in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, in suburban Paris, is the son of former cycling champion Stephen Roche and his former wife, Lydia.

Nicolas Roche is also the nephew of former cycling professionals Laurence Roche and Neil Martin and cousin of 2008 Irish road champion Dan Martin.

In childhood he resided in both Ireland and France.

Roche had planned 2008 for the Giro d'Italia but organizers RCS did not invite his team.

Roche along with Deignan and Roger Aiken made up the Irish team for the 2008 World Championship in Varese.

Roche was in an early crash and retired.

Roche signed a two-year contract with following the disbandment of.

For the most part of the year and after a solid performance in the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Roche was in consideration for the Tour de France team and after winning the road race at the Irish National Cycling Championships for the first time in June, Roche was selected by to ride his first Tour de France the following month.

After a good early season, where he finished 10th in Paris–Nice, 5th in the Volta a Catalunya and 2nd in the Irish National Road Race Championships, Roche was chosen as the co-leader of the team in the Tour de France and during the race he wrote articles for the Irish Independent newspaper.

During his professional road racing career, Roche took twelve victories, including four titles at the Irish National Cycling Championships – two each in the road race and the time trial – and stage victories at the Vuelta a España in 2013 and 2015.

He started a total of 24 Grand Tours, finishing 22, and he took a total of 65 top-10 finishes in Grand Tour stages, including 43 at the Vuelta a España (where he recorded a pair of top-10 overall finishes).

He had five top ten placings in the race and finished 2nd on stage 14.

He changed his schedule, and finished sixth in the Tour Ivoirien de la Paix, 15th in Clásica Internacional de Alcobendas in Spain and won a stage in GP Internacional Paredes Rota dos Móveis in Portugal.

After finishing seventh of the Tour de Wallonie, he competed in the Beijing Olympic road race, teaming with Philip Deignan, won a stage in the Tour du Limousin, and was then picked for his first Vuelta a España.

Roche had good performances in the Vuelta, nearly winning stage 18 into Las Rozas, where he was outsprinted by Imanol Erviti after a 17-man breakaway.

Roche had three top-ten and ten top-20 stage finishes, finishing a fine 13th in the general classification, during what was only his second Grand Tour.

Roche finished 15th overall, but could have been a few ranks above had he not lost four minutes to the race leaders because of a flat tyre in stage 15.