Nicolas Roche facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Nicolas Roche

Roche, wearing the Irish national champion jersey, at the 2016 Tour of Britain.
Personal information
Full name	Nicolas Roche
Nickname	Nico
Born	(1984-07-03) 3 July 1984 (age 41) Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, Île-de-France, France
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	70 kg (154 lb; 11 st 0 lb)
Team information
Current team	NR GRVL Trinity Racing
Role	Rider Directeur sportif
Rider type	All-rounder Domestique
Major wins
Grand Tours Vuelta a España 2 individual stages (2013, 2015) 1 TTT stage (2017) One-day races and Classics National Road Race Championships (2009, 2016) National Time Trial Championships (2007, 2016)

Nicolas Roche (born July 3, 1984) is a famous Irish cyclist. He currently competes in gravel cycling for his own team, NR GRVL. Before this, he was a professional road bicycle racer from 2005 to 2021. He rode for seven different teams during his road racing career.

Nicolas won twelve races as a professional road cyclist. This included four titles at the Irish National Cycling Championships. He won the road race twice and the time trial twice. He also won stages at the Vuelta a España in 2013 and 2015. He competed in 24 major cycling races called Grand Tours, finishing 22 of them. He often placed in the top 10 in Grand Tour stages, especially at the Vuelta a España. Nicolas represented Ireland at the Olympics four times and at the UCI Road World Championships eleven times.

After retiring from road cycling in 2021, Nicolas became a directeur sportif (a team manager) for a cycling team. He also works as a commentator for the Tour de France television broadcasts.

Early Life and Family

Nicolas Roche was born in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, a town near Paris, France. His father, Stephen Roche, was a famous cycling champion. His mother is Lydia. Nicolas is also related to other cyclists: his uncles Laurence Roche and Neil Martin, and his cousin Dan Martin.

As a child, Nicolas lived in both Ireland and France. He lived in Dublin from 1996 to 1999. During this time, he attended the Lycée Français d'Irlande and Blackrock College. He enjoyed playing soccer and rugby. In 1999, he moved to southern France, where he has lived most of his life since.

Cycling Career Highlights

Starting as a Professional Cyclist

Nicolas became a professional cyclist at the end of 2004. He was one of the youngest riders in the UCI ProTour at the time. Because his father is Irish and his mother is French, Nicolas had dual nationality. In 2005, French officials told him he had to choose one nationality. He chose France because he planned to live there.

However, a few months later, the UCI and Cycling Ireland told him he could race for Ireland and keep both nationalities. He chose to race for Ireland. In his first two years, he often worked as a domestique. This means he helped his team leaders. He also achieved some good results in French races. His first professional win was a stage in the 2004 Tour de l'Avenir. This race is like a mini-Tour de France for riders under 25. He wore the yellow jersey for two days and finished tenth overall.

Time with Credit Agricole (2007–2008)

In 2007, Nicolas rode in the Giro d'Italia. In June, he won the Irish National Time Trial Championships. He also placed fourth in the Road Race Championship. In 2008, he won a stage in a race in Portugal and another in France. He then rode his first Vuelta a España. He performed well, finishing 13th overall. This was a great result for only his second major Grand Tour race.

Racing for Ag2r (2009–2012)

Nicolas joined the Ag2r team in 2009. After winning the Irish National Cycling Championships road race for the first time, he was chosen to ride his first Tour de France. He had a strong debut, finishing 23rd overall and placing in the top ten on five stages.

2010 Season Success

In 2010, Nicolas had a great start to the season. He finished 10th in Paris–Nice and 5th in the Volta a Catalunya. He was chosen as a co-leader for his team in the Tour de France. He finished 15th overall. After the Tour, he led his team at the Vuelta a España. He performed even better here, staying close to the best climbers. He finished 7th overall, which was later changed to 6th. This was the best Grand Tour result for an Irishman since 1988.

2011 and 2012 Seasons

In 2011, injuries and crashes affected Nicolas's season. He still rode the Tour de France and Vuelta a España. In October, he won a stage at the Tour of Beijing. This was his first international win in three years. In 2011, he also published a book called Inside the Peloton, which won an award.

In 2012, Nicolas gave up his French citizenship to become only an Irish national. He finished 10th overall in the Tour de Suisse. He also placed 2nd and 3rd in the Irish National Road Race and Time Trial Championships. He rode the Tour de France, finishing 12th overall. He also represented Ireland at the Olympic Games Road Race.

Joining Tinkoff–Saxo (2013–2014)

In 2013, Nicolas joined the Tinkoff–Saxo team. He mostly worked as a domestique, helping his team leader Alberto Contador. However, he was given a leadership role at the Vuelta a España. On August 25, Nicolas won stage two of the Vuelta. He wore the leader's red jersey for several days. He eventually finished 5th overall in the race, which was his best Grand Tour result ever. He later said this was the highlight of his career.

In 2014, Nicolas won the overall classification of the Route du Sud race. He also won a stage and the points classification. This was his first stage race victory, a race his father also won in 1985.

Time with Team Sky (2015–2016)

In 2015, Nicolas joined Team Sky. On September 10, he won stage 18 of the Vuelta a España in a sprint finish.

In 2016, Nicolas had a difficult start to the season due to spider infections. However, he recovered and finished 2nd overall in the Tour de Yorkshire. In June, he won both the time trial and road race at the Irish National Cycling Championships. This was a great achievement, but he was not chosen for the Tour de France that year.

Later Road Racing Teams (2017–2021)

Nicolas joined the BMC Racing Team for 2017 and 2018. In September 2018, he moved to Team Sunweb for 2019. His role was to help his team leader, Tom Dumoulin, win the Tour de France.

In 2019, Nicolas wore the Red Jersey (leader's jersey) on Stage 2 of the 2019 Vuelta a España. He held it for a few days but crashed out on stage 6. He retired from professional road racing after the Irish National Cycling Championships in October 2021.

Gravel Cycling and Other Roles

In October 2022, Nicolas Roche started his own gravel cycling team called NR GRVL. In May 2023, he finished third in a major gravel race in Australia.

After retiring from road racing, Nicolas also became a directeur sportif (team manager) for a cycling team. He led the team at the 2022 Rás Tailteann race.

Personal Life

Nicolas Roche lives in Monaco. He used to live in Varese, Italy. He was married to Deborah Robles from 2015 to 2017, and they have one child. Nicolas also co-owns a bicycle shop in County Cork, Ireland.

Dancing with the Stars

In 2022, Nicolas Roche appeared on the Irish TV show Dancing With the Stars. He danced with professional dancer Karen Byrne. They were eliminated in the quarter-final, finishing in 6th place.

Performances

Major Achievements

Grand Tour Performance Timeline

This table shows Nicolas Roche's overall finishing positions in the three biggest cycling races: the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a España.

Grand Tour	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Giro d'Italia	123	—	—	—	—	—	—	30	—	24	—	DNF	—	—	59
Tour de France	—	—	22	14	25	12	40	39	35	—	33	—	45	64	—
/ Vuelta a España	—	13	—	6	16	12	5	—	26	—	14	40	DNF	—	—

Images for kids

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  Roche at the 2009 Tour de France

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  Roche at the 2011 Tour de France

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  Roche at the 2013 Vuelta a España

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  Roche at the 2015 Vuelta a España

See also

In Spanish: Nicolas Roche para niños