Roche Fights for a Top Ten at Le Tour

With a top 10 as his goal for the 2012 Tour the Irishman – who was born in France – currently sits 68 seconds out with improving form and three stages remaining (Photo: Brakethrough Media)

Nicholas Roche (AG2R La Mondiale) began the 2012 Tour de France with a top 10 placing in mind, the Irishman (and shares dual citizenship in France) currently sits within 68 seconds of that goal. Slipping into the top 10 will undoubtedly be a battle as he currently sits in front of two veterans (Kloden, Horner (RadioShack), and behind Thibault Pinot (FDJ) and Janez Brajkovic (Astana) in the general classification. Stage 19′s 53.5km TT into Chartres will realistically be his sole opportunity to gain the time on Pinot without losing more than 1:11 to Kloden.

On the technical side, Roche’s team took delivery of the all new SRAM RED-2012 groupsets roughly a week before the Tour, but with all the prep leading up to the world’s biggest bike race, the team has not had time to install SRAM’s newest gruppos. Roche rides the world’s second lightest, fastest, and most ergo gruppo, SRAM Black RED. His TT shifters are SRAM’s all carbon 900′s, perfectly matched to his all carbon 900 aero brake levers – fast, aero, light and precise.

Best of luck to Nicholas over these next three stages…