Nicolas Roche

The recently-retired Irish WorldTour pro is going all in on gravel.

'Obviously my big issue is that every time there’s a descent I’m dropping the wheel and I have to sprint for 5km just to get back to the group,' Irish rider says after fifth in Big Sugar Gravel.

Off-road specialists set to start behind road pros at gravel worlds as friction continues ahead of inaugural event.

'After racing we hang out and I really enjoy the camaraderie. We want to kick the shit out of each other in racing but then have a few beers in the evening,' says former WorldTour pro.

Here's what's making headlines on Tuesday, December 14.

The upcoming climbs of the Tour de France will be strange to see without fans, writes Andrew Hood, but the riders seem to think the fan restrictions won't impact the race. What should we expect from Saturday's stage 15 to Grand Colombier?

Irish star accepts a race with little contact to fans, media is what’s required to push Tour to Paris.

BMC Racing has quietly placed its two GC hopefuls into the Vuelta's top-five standings after 10 stages of racing in Spain.

The 13-year veteran is ready to use his experience to help Richie Porte take on the Sky train in this summer's Tour de France.

Nicolas Roche wins a two-up sprint after a long day off the front as the GC riders battle but fail to wrest red jersey from Dumoulin.

Nicolas Roche cautions that Sky is not yet ready to say Chris Froome has the yellow jersey wrapped up

Several notable riders are left off the team's lineup, including American veteran Danny Pate

The Paris-Nice route this year will offer something for everyone in the peloton

The Irishman has served as a key lieutenant to Alberto Contador on Tinkoff-Saxo since 2013

The Tour of Britain offers up its first major hilltop finish. Zardini seizes the win and GC lead.

La Gazzetta dello Sport is reporting that Ivan Basso is headed to Tinkoff-Saxo, Carlos Betancur is headed to OPQS, and Nicolas Roche is headed to Sky

One of Spain's most elegant cities, San Sebastián will be on display at the end of the 219km race this weekend

Tony Gallopin attacks twice in the final kilometers of stage 11 at the Tour, which leads to France’s second stage win

Cadel Evans is in control of the GC at the Giro, holding a 57-second lead over his closest competitor. Can he go the distance?

The Giro peloton is facing a nasty mix of poor weather and slick roads throughout the first week of the corsa rosa

After a stellar 2013 Vuelta the son of Stephen Roche will be a team leader as the Giro starts in Ireland, then work for Contador in France

Five-time grand tour winner aims for a double in 2014, with Nicolas Roche targeting the Giro d'Italia

The Irishman talks about returning to the European peloton with Sky and more

The Irishman lost time over the weekend but has made up ground since as he fights for the best grand tour finish of his career

Chris Horner and the GC hopefuls will chase race leader Vincenzo Nibali through the Pyrénées this weekend

Almost a year after earning the rainbow jersey, Philippe Gilbert is finally able to put a check mark in the win column

Sicilian takes the GC lead, but three men still hold hope of upsetting the Giro d'Italia champion in Madrid

The race through Spain resumes after Tuesday's rest day with the 38.8-kilometer test against the clock

Moreno takes the stage win and a crucial time bonus that put him in the red jersey by a single second ahead of overnight leader Roche

Roche has been close before, but Sunday's stage win is a thriller, coming at a race the Irishman deems very important for him

The Saxo-Tinkoff rider attacks on the final steeps to win stage 2

Inside the split-second decision and ensuing dogfight that helped Alberto Contador claw back time in the Spaniard's first move of the Tour

Van Garderen quietly confident ahead of GC battle, while 23 riders sit less than a minute off the yellow jersey's time

Free of the pressure to follow wheels, the Irish rider is having a go before joining Contador in 2013

Contador heads the list of contenders for the Spanish tour, but it's a long list, with a number of subplots

Nicolas Roche, of Irish-French lineage, is the half-Frenchman on the Tour team

Nicolas Roche tells VeloNews that he is angry after the stage 1 crash that took him down at the Amgen Tour. The Ag2r captains says the team is searching for a morale boost

YONGNING, China (AFP) — Irishman Nicolas Roche of the AG2R-La Mondiale team won the 162km third stage of the Tour of Beijing, the hilliest in the race, as Germany's Tony Martin held on to the overall lead Friday.

Nicolas Roche will trade his Ag2r-La Mondiale jersey for the national kit of Ireland this week for what he hopes will be a chance to salvage a frustrating, injury-plagued 2011 season.

PARIS (AFP) - Irish rider Nicolas Roche will lead the AG2R team in the forthcoming Tour of Spain the French outfit announced on Monday.

LAVAUR, France (VN) — Nicolas Roche (Ag2r-La Mondiale) crashed a lot during his run-up to the Tour de France this year, but he's largely avoided the disasters that have struck other top contenders in the first half of the race.

Irish champion Nicolas Roche, son of Stephen, is the best placed rider on a French team. He also is a French citizen.