Roche helping to plot Froome’s Tour downfall

Nicolas Roche is hoping to play his part in defeating Chris Froome at this year’s Tour de France.

Roche, son of former Tour winner Stephen Roche, will line up in a support role behind Froome’s main rival for the yellow jersey, Spain’s Alberto Contador.

Although the recent form book suggests Froome is a runaway favourite, Roche is confident Contador can win.

“I definitely hope so,” the Team Saxo-Tinkoff rider said. “Everyone on the team is thinking that way, we’re all here with that purpose.

“We know it’s going to be a very difficult task because Team Sky are so well structured, they’ve been doing it for two years now where they just keep rolling and doing whatever they want in a race, imposing their own tactics.

“It will be a hard task for us to find the right tactics to unbalance them but I do believe Contador can beat Froome.

“It won’t be easy which is why there is the excitement there is. I think everyone is looking for a great battle, and it is going to be a battle for sure.”

To break the often metronomic pace, Team Sky are renowned for creating at the front of the peloton, Roche believes Saxo-Tinkoff must counter with waves of attacks.

“How to break their rhythm exactly, I don’t know yet, but for sure it’s not by staying behind them,” he said.

“Sooner or later you have to attack. It’s the only solution. There’s no point staying behind into the final kilometre and then watching Froome accelerate away.

“I think Froome is a bit stronger than Alberto in the time-trial, so for sure it’s going to have to come from true attacks.”

Roche’s season has not gone to plan so far, and he admitted last week he was disappointed not to have given his new team many rewards after joining from Ag2r-La Mondiale in the winter.

Fifth place at the Tour Mediterraneen is the best he has managed so far, and he has blamed his slow start on overexertion in training.

“I had a bad start to the year, I was hoping for a lot more,” he explained.

“I had a long break before the Tour de Suisse and I was getting better there every day, so hopefully coming to the Tour now, I’ll be there when the team needs me. My coach was telling me to do one thing but sometimes I was adding more because I was just so overexcited, and I wanted to kick ass at Paris-Nice.

“In the last two days there it went downhill and it went downhill for a long time.”

Now confident he is back in shape, Roche can afford a laugh when asked about his role in this year’s Tour as part of Team Saxo-Tinkoff.

“Carrying bottles,” he said, before adding: “Hopefully I’ll be there in those precious mountain stages.

“This year’s Tour seems to be pretty much based on the third week. I want to be there so that when the team say, ‘Nico, go’, I’ll be able to go.”