Roche moves to 15th overall

NICOLAS ROCHE moved up six places to 15th overall in Paris-Nice yesterday, riding solidly on the steep finishing climb to Mende. The Ireland road race champion was 17th on the stage, crossing the line 48 seconds behind the day’s winner, Alberto Contador.

Contador, the reigning Tour de France champion, stamped his authority on the race when he accelerated clear on the final climb. The other general classification riders had no answer and slipped backwards, with Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) and Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel Euskadi) finishing closest at 10 seconds back. Overnight leader Jens Voigt conceded 44 seconds and dropped to sixth overall, 34 seconds behind Contador.

Roche had mixed feelings about his performance: “I was happy that I was competitive, but I was a bit disappointed as I completely cracked with about a kilometre to go. I think I was about 11th or 12th until that point, but lost five places in that last kilometre.

“The climb actually flattened out on the top and that is where I lost out. I was a bit wrecked by that point and it was hard to get the speed up again.”

The cold was also a big factor, with snow lining the side of the roads. “I took my leg-warmers off with about 30 kilometre to go and when I finished, my knees were purple with the cold,” he said.

Contador now holds a 24-second gap on Valverde with three stages remaining in the race. Roche is up six places to 15th overall, 1:22 back, and is moving every closer to the top 10.

“I guess I’ve improved a lot from 105th overall,” he said, referring to his disappointing showing in last Sunday’s prologue. “To go up 90 places is a good sign, although I’d love to have been a bit closer today. I’ve never finished in the top 10 overall in a ProTour race; I’ve finished top 10 on stages, but not in the general classification, so that’s a goal.” The race continues today with a 153.5km stage to Aix en Provence.

Meanwhile, David McCann will try build on his recent good form when he begins the Tour of Taiwan on Sunday. In Belgium, the An Post Grant Thornton M Donnelly Sean Kelly team will compete in the Omloop van het Waasland on Sunday. Irish riders Mark Cassidy, Ronan McLaughlin and Connor McConvey will ride.