Roche and Martin on right road to bringing back glory days

Ireland’s Nicolas Roche (Ag2r La Mondiale) and Dan Martin (Garmin Sharp) have set some pretty high standards for themselves going forward in their respective cycling careers, but few could argue they’re not capable of even more after a thrilling few weeks in the saddle.

Martin made his debut in the race and finished a highly respectable 35th, while Roche churned out his best ever result in 12th, having rode the race for the fourth time.

To put Martin’s result into context, Tour winner Bradley Wiggins made his debut in 2006 and finished 123rd and, given this year’s race, which didn’t favour the pure climber that Martin is, he’ll be the first to admit there’s stage-winning potential in him — if not more, in the future.