“He is there to give me advice when
I ask for it, which is good,” he said of
his father. “I don’t think I would have
wanted to become a cyclist if I had
my dad on my back every day telling
me what to do and what not to do. In
fact, most of my friends who had their
parents too much behind them at a
young age all quit!”
“The good thing is that when I do
ask, I listen to the answer and it’s
usually good advice.”
The French Connection
Young Nicolas’s amateur racing took
a more serious turn back in France,
where he rode in local clubs in
Antibes and Cannes. Eventually he
found himself racing with the VC La
Pomme team, based in Marseille. In
fact, Roche did his part to put the La
Pomme squad on the map as a force in
French amateur cycling.
“At the time, VC La Pomme wasn’t
a big feeder team,” he explained. “In
fact, Mark Scanlon was the first to
turn pro, two years before me. It was
my generation that made La Pomme
become a feeder team when eight of us
turned pro after the 2004 season.”
Roche enjoyed perfect camaraderie
on the team, based in France
but featuring some friends from
his other homeland, Ireland. “I
had good fun at La Pomme. I
was with the Irish guys and we
had a great race program.”
His big break came with an offer
from Cofidis to ride as a stagiaire, a
late-season assignment offered to up-
and-coming amateurs to test their
mettle in selected professional races.
Racing in France has a different feel
than in other countries; early and
relentless attacks mean excitement
to some, while others scoff at the
seemingly futile tactics of French
teams. Having come up through
the ranks, Roche acknowledges
the quirks of the French peloton.
