Even if Roche doesn’t dope, he’s riding for a team who have gotten where they are due to doping.
Just like most teams so.
Yep. And he may well turn out like most grand tour contenders from most of those teams and the fact he was part of a majority will be no defence for him.
If you were to handpick a list of names of prominent obvious dopers from the very modern era then you’d assemble much of his team. And if you’d to give that team an obviously doping leader then you’d choose his leader. And if you were to pick an obviously doping friendly boss for that team then you’d pick his boss. It’s impossible to look at his choice of career path rationally and not be very alarmed.
I unfollowed Nicolas Roche on Twitter the day he joined his current team. My strong and decisive action was a tribute to me.
Roche has done nothing amazing in this tour so far and has absolutely not been helped by his team who’ve totally under performed. Roche has fought to stay in wheels since his stage win. I think he was let go that day because he wasn’t a perceived threat.
There’s huge doubts and understand the scepticism on here but I agree with @balbec, having watched the stages and most of his grand tour racing over the years there’s not much difference between now and his best time as team leader of AG2R. He doesn’t attack but tries to stay with the leaders, and still is doing that.
I’d rather he wasn’t with Saxo-Tinkoff and I think it was a poor move for him from a reputational perspective. And a huge part of me hopes that he blows up on a stage so I can dispel the growing doubts, and THAT, I think is where the sport of Cycling has been irreparably damaged by the carry on over the last few decades. I want to believe - but I have to really try hard to do so. It’s sad!
[quote=“Scrunchie, post: 825022, member: 1408”]Roche has done nothing amazing in this tour so far and has absolutely not been helped by his team who’ve totally under performed. Roche has fought to stay in wheels since his stage win. I think he was let go that day because he wasn’t a perceived threat.
There’s huge doubts and understand the scepticism on here but I agree with @balbec, having watched the stages and most of his grand tour racing over the years there’s not much difference between now and his best time as team leader of AG2R. He doesn’t attack but tries to stay with the leaders, and still is doing that.
I’d rather he wasn’t with Saxo-Tinkoff and I think it was a poor move for him from a reputational perspective. And a huge part of me hopes that he blows up on a stage so I can dispel the growing doubts, and THAT, I think is where the sport of Cycling has been irreparably damaged by the carry on over the last few decades. I want to believe - but I have to really try hard to do so. It’s sad![/quote]
Whether his team has performed well in this tour or not doesn’t really matter if they’ve benefited from dodgy practices during training etc.
I accept he hasn’t done anything extraordinary yet but he’s been more consistent than ever before and he made a decision that means he can’t be given the benefit of the doubt anymore. The fact that he’s the son of one of the biggest apologists/deniers of doping in cycling might be irrelevant, but it doesn’t help.
I don’t think he is more consistent this year. He was poor in the tour though admittedly he was a team rider not a leader. He did nothing in the season before July. He has one top 5 in San Sebastian and in this race he is up the leaderboard after one week. A lot of guys do that and crash and burn later in the race. Like I said, if he does not bomb in the TT I will be suspicious. And i agree that Riis should not be in the sport, just like Bruyneel or Manola Saiz or a number of other team managers.
I meant consistent in this tour, not not the season as a whole.
Roche dropped on last climb today.
Basso, Horner (questions…) and Nibali up the road
Horner attacks again with 4km to go. Drops everyone. Roche trying to stay on the back of a group of 6 including Basso & Nibali
Basso attacks and Roche again slips backward. Can he catch 42 year old Horner
Nibali speeds away now chasing 42 year old Horner. Roche totally spat out the back. Yesterday’s stage winner and current red jersey wearer, Moreno, is a further 30 seconds behind Roche.
If Roche is on drugs then I’d love to know what kind of cosmic concoction Horner is on that Saxo can’t get a hold of.
42 year-old Horner wins his 2nd stage of the tour and takes the overall lead.
Nibali made no inroads despite a huge attack. Finished 48" behind.
Roche finishes 6" behind the Basso/Rodriguez/Pinot group at 1’11"
Moreno finishes 2’24" behind with Anton & Sanchez
*42 year-old Horner
Just back from injury too
The Clinic should be good reading this evening.
Absolutely.
Roche held on well. Has a bit of sliding space now if he has a bad day.
Interesting google-translated article that someone linked to on the Clinic.
Note the part about Nicolas Roche, all you naysayers…
[quote=“Thrawneen, post: 825874, member: 129”]Interesting google-translated article that someone linked to on the Clinic.
Note the part about Nicolas Roche, all you naysayers…[/quote]
Saunier Duval,Astana and Radioshack. A dopers triple crown right there. Thanks Thraw.