Nicolas Roche will roll down the start-ramp in Apeldoorn in the Netherlands this afternoon as one of the two Irish riders in this year’s Giro d’Italia.

Fabio Aru claimed his first Grand Tour win yesterday when he was crowned winner of the Vuelta A Espana after an enthralling three-week battle with Dutchman Tom Dumoulin.

Nicolas Roche had a day he’s unlikely to forget on stage 10 of the Vuelta a Espana yesterday when he came down in a crash and was forced into a frantic chase to preserve fourth overall on the general classification.

Nicolas Roche has been named in Team Sky’s nine-man roster for the Vuelta a Espana, which starts on Saturday in the Andalucian town of Puerto Banus on the Costa del Sol.

Team Sky have been forced to borrow bikes from their rivals in order to take part in this weekend’s Tour du Haut Var after having 16 of their own stolen on the eve of the race.