Roche continues to impress

Ireland’s Nicolas Roche finished an outstanding third place on today’s final stage of the Volta a Catalunaya, finishing fifth overall in the ProTour event.

The race was arguably the most consistent performance of his career, with the 25-year-old taking four top ten placings out of seven stages, including today’s third place.

He ended the tough race one minute and 20 seconds behind the Spanish winner Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha).

Earlier this month, Roche performed very well in Paris-Nice, landing four top ten placings there plus eleventh in the general classification.

He appears to have moved to a new level this season, and a big win can’t be too far off.

Now the focus switches to the Spring Classics in April in which he is unlikely to perform as well in but with the Giro d'Italia in May and the Tour de France looming in July, the early signs indicate that the National Champion is in for a big season.