Roche takes time ahead of big stage

CYCLING TOUR DE FRANCE:NICOLAS ROCHE rolled in as part of the main bunch on yesterday's 13th stage of the Tour de France, finishing in the same time as the main contenders. The stage was marked by an early break which gained a stage-winning advantage, while Roche and the other team leaders were content to keep their powder dry for today's big stage.

A move of more significance to Roche occurred when Belgian champion Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma Lotto) and Bauke Mollema (Rabobank) clipped away near the finish and gained 49 seconds on the main bunch. This moved Gilbert ahead of Roche, bumping the Irishman down from 10th to 11th overall, 22 seconds behind Gilbert and Tom Danielson (Garmin-Cervélo).

“Today was a pretty difficult stage,” said Roche afterwards. “It went flat out at the start. It was okay. I wasn’t feeling the best as yesterday (Thursday) took a lot out of me, but I was happy with how things went.” He said today’s stage will determine if Gilbert can keep his momentum going. He’s not known as a rider of the big climbs, although he is in career-best form in this race.

“He seems to be doing great. He is attacking every day,” said Roche. “I don’t what his intentions are, really – whether it is for the points jersey, is it for general classification, or whatever. But every single day he is up the front. He took a bit of time today but tomorrow we will see if he has the legs, or if I will have them.”

Today’s stage in the Pyrenees is one of the toughest in this year’s Tour. The riders will cross five categorised climbs, including the final grind up to the 1,780-metre summit of Plateau de Beille. Roche believes everything will happen on the ascent to the finish line.

“The second last climb is a fair bit way from the last one. I think a group of 50 to 60 riders – roughly the group that was there on top of the Aubisque today – will be together to the bottom of the Plateau de Beille. Then everything will happen from there to the finish.”