ianmcclure's blog
Nicolas Announces scheduled Ag2r 2012 Race Plan
Posted Thu, 01/19/2012 - 22:08
Nicolas Ag2r 2012 Race Schedule:
GP Etrouski
Volta ao Algarve
GP Cittå di Lugano
Paris-Nice
Volta a Catalunya
Paris-Camembert
Giro del Trentino
"Inside the Peloton" wins Irish Sports Book of the Year Award
Posted Fri, 11/18/2011 - 12:21
Last night Nicolas Roche’s autobiography “Inside the Peloton” won the prestigious Bord Gáis Energy Irish Sports Book of the Year Award, held in the RDS in Dublin. Nicolas usually used to winning on a bicycle accepted the award for his writing skills this time around, the book was written in collaboration with Irish Journalist Gerard Cromwell and develops on Roche’s massively popular diaries from the peloton for the Irish Independent.
Roche pulls no punches in the book, at times a brutally honest account of the rigours of professional cycle racing, internal team politics and life with a suitcase and on two wheels. Taking the reader through injury, victory and the training between, the book is already receiving a host of critical acclaim.
Nicolas Roche looks towards the end of season and the launch of Autobiography "Inside the Peloton"
Posted Tue, 10/11/2011 - 21:39
Following his magnificent stage victory at the inaugural Tour of Beijing, Nicolas Roche is nearing the end of his 2011 season, with just the Giro del Piemonte and the Giro di Lombardia left on his racing schedule.
Nicolas will return to Ireland on Oct 18th to promote his new autobiography, ‘Inside the Peloton, My Life as a Professional Cyclist’, which has been published by Transworld Ireland and is currently in all good book shops and also available online.
The 27-year-old Ag2r La Mondiale team leader will appear on breakfast television show Ireland AM on TV3 on Tuesday 18th at 7.45 and will also speak on some of Ireland’s top radio shows about his recent victory, his 2011 season, his new book and his hopes going into Olympic year.
Roche wins Stage 3 of the Tour of Beijing
Posted Fri, 10/07/2011 - 17:09
Nicolas Roche (Ag2r) today won Stage 3 of the Tour of Beijing to take his first victory on the WorldTour. Nicolas took the sprint for victory ahead of fellow countryman Philip Deignan (RadioShack), with 3rd place going to Chris Froome (Team Sky).The win is the cherry on top of a consistent season albeit marred by injuries and crashes and is just rewards for the effort put in this year by the Irishman.
I got away with it for nearly two weeks and then the Tour called my bluff
Posted Mon, 07/25/2011 - 18:23
While I conked out as soon as my head hit the pillow last night, my room-mate Max had trouble sleeping. It wasn't the climb to Alpe d'Huez or the thoughts of today's time trial that kept him awake, though. It was my coughing. After a fitful night's sleep, another bout of coughing woke us both at 6.0 and, as we couldn't go back to sleep, we groggily headed down for breakfast.
We had a three-hour drive to the time trial course where I spent an hour on the bike to loosen up.
I didn't ride the course, as I had raced the exact same route in the Criterium Dauphine a couple of weeks before the Tour. Instead, I found a quiet road and just warmed up there instead of riding the rollers.
I lost more time today than I lost in the last two Tours put together
Posted Sun, 07/24/2011 - 09:46
While waiting on the start line this morning, we were warned by team manager Vincent Lavenu that he had seen guys warming up before the start, which is always a sign that things are going to kick off early.
Although we had the climbs of the Col du Telegraphe and the Col du Galibier before the summit finish at Alpe d'Huez, today's stage was just over 100km and as it was the last chance for anybody to change the GC before the time trial, it looked made for guys to go from the gun.
After three days of attacking and yesterday's epic in the breakaway group, I was expecting my legs to be sore this morning and was hoping for an easy first few kilometres. What I wasn't expecting, however, was Alberto Contador to go ballistic at the bottom of the Telegraphe after just 10km and rip the race to pieces.
On a day like this there's no hiding. You are going to suffer
Posted Fri, 07/22/2011 - 19:13
As today's stage start was in Italy, just over an hour and a half from my base in Varese, my girlfriend Chiara drove over after work last night and we had dinner together.
As our team hotel was fully booked and we are not allowed change hotels by the Tour organisation, she found a hotel 15km away and came to the start this morning, where we had a cup of coffee with my dad.
Also there, was one of the big bosses of my team sponsor Ag2r, Monsieur Breton, who is a big cycling fan and would be following the race in a guest car during the stage.
For the past couple of days there has been a knocking noise coming from my bike. Having searched everywhere for the root of the problem, last night the mechanics stripped it down and noticed a crack in the frame. They worked late into the night to transfer my whole groupset, saddle, bars and wheels onto a new frame for this morning's start.
We moved back up to third team overall, so my move today wasn't totally futile
Posted Thu, 07/21/2011 - 20:03
After the rain and bad weather of the second week, I now have a bout of sinusitis and a bit of a cold. My nose is blocked, my voice is going and I'm starting to cough. The team doctor put me on a course of antibiotics yesterday. They usually tire you out a bit more than usual, but I'm that tired now, I don't think it will make any difference. I think it's better to take them than to get worse and be completely wrecked.
Today was another 'medium' mountain stage, as the experts like to say. We had five climbs on the road to Gap, including the first category ascent to the alpine village of Sestrieres after 115km, a venue for the 2006 Winter Olympics.
With the bigger, longer, steeper, 20-30km climbs of Serre Chevalier and Alpe d'huez to come on Thursday and Friday, today was another chance to get into the main break of the day.
I can't say I'm going to be in the break, but I'm going to give it a shot
Posted Tue, 07/19/2011 - 22:49
Our post-stage hotel transfer took three and a half hours on the team bus yesterday. Every day on this Tour we seem to be stuck in an eternal traffic jam with all the other teams. Last night we didn't reach our hotel until 9.30, which was actually early compared to some of the previous nights.
It's often a bit quicker to go in the team car but it's more relaxing to take the bus. At least you can stretch your legs out and if you want a drink or something you can just grab one from the fridge.
At the back of the bus we have a seating section that can be turned into a sort of bed, and yesterday I used this space to pull on the inflatable compression boots on the drive to the hotel. I sat on the bed for 40 minutes or so reading my book with the inflatable 'space boots' compressing my legs from my toes to my thighs, flushing out the toxins.
The middle of the climb was agony. It was a proper nightmare
Posted Mon, 07/18/2011 - 18:35
When I woke up this morning there was no inkling of the nightmare that lay ahead of me on today's stage. In fact I was feeling good and, having started the day in 11th place overall, I hoped to overtake at least one of my rivals and ride my way back into the top 10 on the way up the tough summit finish at Plateau de Beille.
Things were going to plan when both Christophe Riblon and my room-mate Maxime Bouet went clear in a 24-man group early on in the stage. They would be waiting to give me a hand when we caught them later on in the stage.
Although I didn't feel super, I got over the first three climbs of the day -- the second category Col de Portet d'Aspet, the first category Col de la Core and second category Col de Latrape -- reasonably well in the middle of the peloton. But the first signs of trouble were only a mountain away.
