Roche has designs beyond Irish stages at Giro d'Italia

The troika of Irish stages may have been the motivating factor for Nicolas Roche to line up at the Giro d'Italia for the first time since 2007 but the Tinkoff-Saxo man enters the race with the long game in mind. After landing fifth place at last year's Vuelta a España, Roche is targeting a top 10 finish in Trieste, although he acknowledged that he is part of a large echelon of riders with a similar ambition.

Barry Ryan
Head of Features

Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.