Book description
Nicolas Roche has a famous surname to all fans of cycling. The son of
legendary Irish and World Champion Stephen Roche, Nicolas had to fight
to make it as a professional and even harder to make his mark as his
own man in this toughest of competitive sports.
His rise up the ranks has been meteoric, with top 15 finishes in
both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, but his attitude to
his chosen profession has remained undimmed. Honest, eloquent and
passionate about the cycling world, Nicolas gained acclaim and a
devoted fan following for his Tour diaries serialised in the Irish Independent.
Now a major contender for a podium finish in a grand tour, in the
award-winning Inside the Peloton Nicolas tells in full the
story of life as a professional cyclist and of the remarkable events
that have brought him this far. From furious spats with teammates and
exhilarating races against the world's best, this is a gripping
cycling adventure and tale of a fiercely competitive sportsman.
Nicolas Roche was born in 1984 and became a professional cyclist
in 2004 with the Cofidis team. After two years with Crédit Agricole,
he joined AG2R-La Mondiale in 2009 and was soon the team leader.
The Irish national champion in 2009, Roche came an impressive 23rd
overall in his debut Tour de France, with second and fourth placed
stage finishes, and improved on that yet further in 2010, ending 15th
in the General Classification of the Tour de France and 7th in the
Vuelta a España. In 2011, he won his first UCI World Tour race in the
Tour of Beijing.
The son of Stephen Roche, winner of the Tour de France, Giro
d'Italia and World Championship in 1987, Nicolas has become one of the
top names in world cycling.
