Roche named in Tour de France line-up

By Kevin Murphy

Nicolas Roche has been named in Team Sky’s line up for this year’s Tour de France which begins on Saturday in Holland.

Fears that the Irish rider’s position in the team was in doubt proved wide of the mark this afternoon when the son of ‘Tour’ winner Stephan was named in the squad.

Roche’s name was missing from a leaked document last week but Team Sky officials insisted the list was inaccurate.

The gruelling three week event sees Roche named as ‘road captain’ for the nine-man team and also includes Britains’ 2013 winner Chris Froome.

Very proud to be part of @TeamSky for this 2015 #tdf can"t wait!! Thanks for all messages of good luck this morning! Grand tour n14 lets go!

— nicholas roche (@nicholasroche) June 29, 2015

Admittedly the Irishman has struggled for form this season but he remains a key member of the team according to team boss Dave Brailsford.

“He is one of the most experienced guys in professional cycling”, Brailsford told Sky Sports.

“He’s a good climber, a strong, punchy rider and we’ll use all his experience. He knows where to position the team and how to position the team and as road captain he’ll be calling the shots.”

Chris Froome will be the team leader and Roche’s role as road captain requires him to liaise between the team car and the riders.

Froome is one of the favourites for the cycling extravaganza which begins in the picturesque Dutch city of Utrecht.