Nicolas Roche – Cycling

Missing out on selection with Team Sky for the Tour de France was naturally disappointing, but at the same time reinforced his enthusiasm for Rio, for what will be his third successive Olympic appearance in the road race. Roche did ride the Giro d’Italia earlier in the season and sharpened up in early June by winning both the national road race and time trial titles, and while the hilly course in Rio may be not be as well suited to him as his cousin, Dan Martin, they may well share the workload to ensure the highest possible place for an Irish rider.