Roche leads breakaway to grab third

CYCLING PARIS-NICE RACE:IRISH ROAD race champion Nicolas Roche registered one of his most impressive performances yesterday, riding extremely aggressively in the closing moments of the third stage of Paris-Nice and taking third at the line.

The 25-year-old sparked a crucial six-man breakaway when he attacked the bunch on the day’s final climb, the short, steep Côte de la Martinie, which peaked just three kilometres from the finish.

Roche jumped hard in the first few metres of the ascent and immediately opened a gap. He led from there to the summit, with just five riders able to claw their way back up to him. They were Tour de France champion Alberto Contador (Astana), Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank), world championship bronze medallist Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), Tony Martin (Columbia HTC) and Peter Sagan (Liquigas).

The six sped down the descent and generally worked well together, although Sagan didn’t contribute. That freshness showed in the sprint, when he jumped hard and started the gallop to the line in Aurillac. Rodriguez and Roche reacted late and were unable to close him down, taking second and third.

The other three riders crossed the line two seconds later, with Voigt netting fourth and taking over the race lead.

“Things nearly went to plan – the plan was to win!” Roche told The Irish Times. “The team rode very well for me, and the riders who rode the climb last year in the French national championships told me what it was like.

“I took a lot of risks to stay up the front before the climb, as everyone was fighting to be there. The roads were really, really narrow, but my team-mate Christophe Riblon gave me a great lead-out before the climb, getting me into position. My plan was that if (defending champion Luis León) Sanchez went, I would go with him. And if he did not go, I would just hammer it as I was feeling really good at that stage.”

Sanchez stayed put, and so Roche went for it himself. “I really, really gave it my all as I knew if I could get on top of the climb without being caught, and if there was a group of 15 or 20 (at the top), I would still be there for the sprint.

“However, I turned around and then I saw that there was actually a bit of a big gap there. Then when I saw Contador coming across, I thought, ‘oh, this could be an interesting move’.”

Roche was frustrated to miss out on the win, but his form is clearly excellent, and far ahead of where it usually is at this time of the year.

He has moved to 21st overall, 44 seconds behind Voigt.

Paris-Nice continues today with a tough, 208km stage to the summit of the Mende climb. “If possible, I’ll try again,” Roche promised, “although the finish will be a different thing. Today, the last climb is just one and a half kilometres, tomorrow is five kilometres and steeper again.”

The race finishes in Nice on Sunday. Roche’s father, Stephen, won the event 29 years ago.