Stephen Roche

For the Australian soccer coach, see Stephen Roche (coach). For Irish footballer, see Stephen Roche (footballer).
Stephen Roche

Roche at the 1993 Tour de France
Personal information
Full name Stephen Roche
Born (1959-11-28) 28 November 1959
Dundrum, County Dublin, Ireland
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight 74 kg (163 lb; 11.7 st)
Team information
Current team Retired
Discipline Road
Role Rider
Rider type All-rounder
Amateur team(s)
1980 ACBB Boulogne-Billancourt
Professional team(s)
1981–1983 Peugeot-Shell-Michelin
1984–1985 La Redoute
1986–1987 Carrera–Inoxpran
1988–1989 Fagor-MBK
1990 Histor Sigma
1991 Ton Ton Tapis
1992–1993 Carrera Jeans–Vagabond
Major wins

Grand Tours

Tour de France
General classification (1987)
3 individual stages
Giro d'Italia
General classification (1987)
2 individual stages

Stage races

Critérium International
General classification (1985)
Paris–Nice
General classification (1981)
Tour de Romandie
General classification (1983, 1984, 1987)
Tour of the Basque Country
General classification (1989)

Other

Super Prestige Pernod International (1987)

Stephen Roche (/ˈroʊtʃ/; born 28 November 1959) is a former Irish professional road racing cyclist. In a 13-year professional career, he peaked in 1987, becoming the second of only two cyclists to win the Triple Crown of victories in the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia stage races, plus the World road race championship. Roche's rise coincided with that of fellow Irishman Sean Kelly.

Although one of the finest cyclists of his generation and admired for his pedalling style, he struggled with knee injuries and never contended in the Grand Tours post-1987. He had 58 professional career wins. All of these wins still stand, despite Roche having been accused by an Italian judge of taking EPO in the later part of his career.

Early life and amateur career

On completion of his apprenticeship as a machinist in a Dublin dairy and following a successful amateur career in Ireland with the "Orwell Wheelers" club coached by Noel O'Neill of Dundrum (which included winning the Irish Junior Championship in 1977 and the Rás Tailteann in 1979 where he became the youngest rider ever to win the Rás), Roche joined the Athletic Club de Boulogne-Billancourt amateur team in Paris to prepare for the 1980 Olympic games in Moscow. Soon after his arrival Roche won the amateur Paris–Roubaix, escaping with Dirk Demol and sprinting to victory on the track at Roubaix. Roche was told by his directeur sportif that if he did not win he "would be sent home to Ireland that day".[1]

He also finished on the podium at the early-season Paris – Ezy road race and finished 14th overall in the Sealink International stage race which was won by Bob Downs. However, a knee injury caused by a poorly fitted shoe plate led to a disappointing ride in Moscow, where he finished 45th.[2] However, on return to France, August to October saw Roche win 19 races. That led to a contract with the Peugeot professional cycling team for 1981.

Professional career

Roche scored his first professional victory by beating Bernard Hinault in the Tour of Corsica. Less than a month later he won Paris–Nice (where he became the first, and still the only, new pro to win Paris–Nice) despite illness following the descent from Mont Ventoux and finished his debut season with victories in the Tour de Corse, Circuit d'Indre-et-Loire and Étoile des Espoirs races with a second place behind Hinault in the Grand Prix des Nations. In total, his debut yielded 10 victories.

In 1982 his best performance was second in the Amstel Gold Race behind Jan Raas, but his rise continued in 1983 with victories in the Tour de Romandie, Grand Prix de Wallonie, Étoile des Espoirs and Paris–Bourges. In the 1983 Tour de France, Roche finished 13th and he finished the 1983 season with a bronze medal in the world cycling championship at Alterheim in Zurich.

In 1984, riding for La Redoute following contractual wrangles with Peugeot (the settlement of which led Roche to sport Peugeot shorts for two years before winning a court action against Vélo Club de Paris Peugeot) he repeated his Tour de Romandie win, won Nice-Alassio, Subida a Arrate and was second in Paris–Nice. He finished 25th in that year's Tour de France.[1]

In 1985, Roche won the Critérium International, the Route du Sud and came second in Paris–Nice and third in Liège–Bastogne–Liège. In the 1985 Tour de France Roche won stage 18 to the Aubisque and finished on the podium in 3rd position, 4 minutes and 29 seconds behind winner Bernard Hinault.

Chronic knee injury

In 1986 at a six-day event with UK professional Tony Doyle at Paris-Bercy, Roche crashed at speed and damaged his right knee. This destroyed his 1986 season at new team Carrera–Inoxpran with little to show other than second in a stage of the Giro. Roche finished the 1986 Tour de France 48th, 1h 32m behind Greg LeMond, a Tour that Roche described as like "entering a dark tunnel" of pain.[1]

The injury and then associated back problems recurred throughout his career (for example in the 1989 Tour Roche retired after banging the problem knee on his handlebars) and a series of operations appeared to only address direct or consequential symptoms of the core injury. Later non-surgical intervention under Dr.Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt in Munich made some difference but the injury required constant care.

By the end of his career Roche was unable to compete at his best because of back problem which led to a loss of power in the left leg. In retirement he described riding the 1993 Tour de France "just for fun". He finished 13th, riding for Claudio Chiappucci).

1987 Triple Crown

Roche riding in the time trial at the 1987 Giro d'Italia

In 1987, Roche had a tremendous season. In the spring, he won the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, taking a third victory in the Tour de Romandie and fourth place plus a stage win in Paris–Nice. He also finished second in Liège–Bastogne–Liège, the closest he got to winning a professional 'Monument' Classic. He blamed it on tactical naiveté and "riding like an amateur".

In the Giro d'Italia, Roche took three stage wins (including a team win with Carrera Jeans–Vagabond in the team time trial) en route to overall victory and became the first Giro victor from outside mainland Europe. Roche's stage wins that year in the Giro were stage 1b, the 8 km (5.0 mi) time trial downhill on the Poggio into San Remo and stage 22, a 32 km (20 mi) individual time trial into St. Vincent. Despite his stage wins, the race is remembered for the stage from Lido di Jesolo to Sappada, where Roche, contravening team orders,[3] broke away alone early and despite being caught late in the race, had the strength to go with the counterattack and take the pink jersey from his team-mate Roberto Visentini, who had been previously leading the classification. His behaviour in the stage gained him the tifosi's hatred.[4] It was said the only member of his team that Roche could rely on not to ride against him was his domestique Eddy Schepers, although Roche recruited Panasonic riders and old ACBB team-mates Robert Millar and Australian Phil Anderson to protect him with Schepers on the Marmolada climb (a day known as the "Marmolada Massacre").

Roche finished the Giro exhausted but favourite for the Tour de France. Following Bernard Hinault's retirement, Laurent Fignon's choppy form and with Greg LeMond injured following an accidental shooting while hunting, the 1987 Tour was open. It was also one of the most mountainous since the war, with 25 stages. Roche won the 87.5 km (54.4 mi) individual time trial stage 10 to Futuroscope and came second on stage 19.

On the next stage, crossing the Galibier and Madeleine and finishing at La Plagne, Roche attacked early, was away for several hours but was caught on the last climb. His nearest rival Pedro Delgado then attacked. Despite being almost 1 and a half minutes in arrears midway up the last climb, Roche pulled the deficit back to 4 seconds. Roche collapsed and lost consciousness and was given oxygen. When asked when revived if he was okay, he replied "Oui, mais pas de femme toute de suite" ("yes, but I am not ready for a woman straight away").[4]

The yellow jersey changed hands several times with Charly Mottet, Roche, Jean François Bernard and Delgado all wearing it before Roche used the final 35 km (22 mi) time trial to overturn a half-minute gap and win the Tour by 40 seconds, which was at the time the second narrowest margin (in 1968 Jan Janssen had beaten Herman Van Springel by 38 seconds; two years after Roche's victory, Greg LeMond beat Laurent Fignon by 8 seconds). Roche became only the fifth cyclist in history to win the Tour and the Giro in the same year. He was also the only Irishman to win the Tour de France. Irish Taoiseach Charles Haughey joined Roche on the podium on the Champs-Élysées.

Later that year, with victory at the World road race championship in Villach in Austria, Roche became only the second to win the Triple Crown of Cycling. Roche arrived with insufficient training although he worked during the 23-lap, 278 km (173 mi) undulating terrain for his team-mate Sean Kelly and escaped in the race winning break only while covering for his countryman. With Moreno Argentin in the following group, Kelly did not chase and as the break slowed and jostling for position began for a sprint, Roche attacked 500 m (1,600 ft) from the finish and crossed the line with metres to spare.[4]

Victory in the season-long Super Prestige Pernod International competition was assured.[1]

Roche was given the freedom of Dublin in late September 1987. Several days later the 1987 edition of the Nissan Classic began and Roche rode strongly to finish second behind Kelly.[5]

Post-1987 career

Roche riding an individual time trial at the 1993 Tour de France

At the close of 1987, Roche moved to Fagor MBK, bringing English riders Sean Yates and Malcolm Elliot, 1984 Tour de France King of the Mountains winner Robert Millar and domestique Eddy Schepers. The team was criticised for containing too many English speakers.

The 1988 season began badly with a recurrence of the knee injury and Roche began a gradual decline. In 1989 he again took second in Paris–Nice (making four second places) and the Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme. Roche finished the 1989 Giro d'Italia ninth behind Laurent Fignon. During the 1989 Tour de France, Roche withdrew due to his knee.

There were problems with his team in and he changed again. In 1990, racing for Histor Sigma, he won the Four Days of Dunkirk and 1991 riding for Roger De Vlaeminck's TonTon Tapis brought victories in the Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme and Critérium International. In the 1991 Tour de France, Roche missed the start for his team's Team time trial and was forced to withdraw due to controversially missing the time cut.[6]

In the Grand Tours, he was ninth in the 1989 Giro, and won a stage of the 1992 Tour de France in appalling conditions into La Bourboule (again racing for Carrera Jeans–Vagabond but now in support of Claudio Chiappucci) and en route to a final ninth place. Riding the last edition of the Nissan Classic Tour of Ireland, Roche was in many breaks but finished fifth.[7] A year later, he was again ninth in the 1993 Giro d'Italia and 13th in the 1993 Tour de France.[8]

Roche retired at the end of an anonymous 1993 which yielded a single win, in the post-Tour de France criterium at Chateau Chinon.

Alleged doping

"I have never taken performance-enhancing drugs whether banned or unbanned, on or off the list, at any time. In fact, I underwent hundreds of tests during my career and all were negative."

Stephen Roche

In May 1990, Paul Kimmage a former professional, Fagor team mate of Roche and a fellow Dubliner published an account of life in the peloton. His book Rough Ride exposed drug use apparently endemic in the peloton but spoke in fawning terms about Roche. Publication resulted in a threat of litigation from Roche.

It was reported in the Rome newspaper, La Repubblica, in January 2000 that Francesco Conconi, a professor at the University of Ferrara involved with administering erythropoietin (EPO) to riders on the Carrera team with which Roche had some of his best years, had provided riders including Roche with EPO. Roche denied the allegations.[9] This was further reported in the Irish Times several days later, Roche again denying EPO.[10] In March 2000 the Italian judge Franca Oliva published a report detailing the investigation into sports doctors including Conconi.[11] This official judicial investigation unequivocally found that Roche was administered EPO in 1993, his last year in the peloton.[12] Files part of the investigation allegedly detail a number of aliases for Roche including Rocchi, Rossi, Rocca, Roncati, Righi and Rossini.[13] In 2004 Judge Oliva again alleged that Roche had taken EPO during 1993 but due to the statute of limitations, neither Roche nor his team-mates at Carrera would be prosecuted.[14]

Personal life

"While it is a very hard and sometimes very cruel profession, my love for the bike remains as strong now as it was in the days when I first discovered it. I am convinced that long after I have stopped riding as a professional I will be riding my bicycle. I never want to abandon my bike. I see my grandfather, now in his seventies and riding around everywhere. To me that is beautiful. And the bike must always remain a part of my life."

Stephen Roche

Roche lives in Antibes on the Côte d'Azur. Roche remained involved in the sport by founding cycling camps in Majorca, by taking part in race organisations and working as a commentator on cycling events for Eurosport.

He has four children with his former wife Lydia; the couple divorced in 2004. One son, Nicolas Roche, is now a professional with Team Sky, and was the 2009 Irish National Road Race Champion.

Stephen's brother Lawrence Roche was also a professional cyclist who completed his only Tour de France in 1991. They were team-mates on the Ton Ton Tapis team.

Roche's nephew Dan Martin is also a professional cyclist and was the 2008 Irish National Road Race Champion.

Roche completed the 2008 ING New York Marathon in a time of 4:21:09.

Palmarès

Main Source[15]
Amateur
1977
1st Irish National Junior Road Race Championships Source[16]
1979
1st Overall Rás Tailteann
1st Stages 2 & 9a
1st Irish National Elite Cyclo-Cross Championships
1980
1st Paris–Roubaix Espoirs
1st GP de France (ITT)
2nd Irish National Road Race Championships
2nd Overall Route de France
2nd Paris-Mantes
2nd Grand Prix des Nations (amateurs)
3rd Paris – Ezy Source[17]
14th Overall Sealink International
45th Olympic Games Road race
Professional
1981
1st Overall Paris–Nice
1st Stage 7b (ITT)
1st Overall Tour de Corse
1st Stage 2
1st Overall Étoile des Espoirs
1st Prologue (ITT)
1st Stage 4b
1st Overall Tour d'Indre-et-Loire
1st Stage 3
1st Stage 7 (ITT) Tour de l'Avenir
2nd Grand Prix des Nations
2nd GP Monaco
3rd Critérium des As
3rd GP de Cannes
1982
2nd Amstel Gold Race
3rd Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
3rd Trofeo Baracchi
1983
1st Overall Tour de Romandie
1st Overall Paris–Bourges
1st Stage 1
1st Grand Prix de Wallonie
1st Overall Étoile des Espoirs
2nd Tour du Haut Var
3rd World Road Race Championships
3rd Overall Route du Sud
3rd GP Ouest-France
13th Overall Tour de France
1984
1st Overall Tour de Romandie
1st Nice – Alassio
1st Subida a Arrate
2nd Overall Paris–Nice
1st Stage 6
2nd Overall Tour Méditerranéen
2nd Overall Tour de Picardie
3rd Overall Critérium International
3rd Grand Prix des Nations
1985
1st Overall Critérium International
1st Stage 3 (ITT)
1st Overall Route du Sud
1st Stage 1a
1st Prologue (ITT) & Stage 9 (ITT) Critérium du Dauphiné
1st Stages 3b & 4a Tour of Ireland
1st Bol d'or des Monédières
1st Critérium Loudéac
1st Critérium Les Ormes
2nd Overall Paris–Nice
1st Stage 7b (ITT)
3rd Overall Tour Méditerranéen
3rd Liège–Bastogne–Liège
3rd Overall Tour de France
1st Stage 18a
3rd points classification
7th World Road Race Championships Source[18]
1986
2nd Cronostaffetta (TTT)
7th Trofeo Baracchi
1987
Tour de France:
Winner overall classification
1st Stages 2 (TTT) & 10 (ITT)
2nd points classification
Giro d'Italia:
Winner overall classification
1st Stages 1b (ITT), 3 (TTT) & 22 (ITT)
UCI Road Race World Championships
Winner
Only second man ever to win the Triple Crown
1st Overall Tour de Romandie
1st Stages 5a & 5b (ITT)
Ist Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
1st Stage 4 (ITT)
1st Critérium Dublin
1st Critérium Kortenhoef
1st Critérium Aalsmeer
1st Stage 7b (ITT) Paris–Nice
1st Super Prestige Pernod International
2nd Overall Tour of Ireland
2nd Overall Critérium International
2nd Liège–Bastogne–Liège
1989
1st Overall Tour of the Basque Country
1st Stage 5b (ITT)
1st Stage 3a (ITT) Four Days of Dunkirk
2nd Overall Paris–Nice
1st Stage 7b (ITT)
3rd Overall Critérium International
9th Overall Giro d'Italia
1990
1st Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
1st Critérium Calais
2nd Overall Paris–Nice
1991
1st Overall Critérium International
1st Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
1st Critérium Brioude
1992
2nd Giro del Piemonte
2nd Critérium Vouneuil-sous-Biard
3rd Bol d'or des Monédières
9th Overall Tour de France
1st Stage 16
14th Overall Vuelta a España
1993
1st Critérium Chateau-Chinon-Ville
9th Overall Giro d'Italia
13th Overall Tour de France

Grand Tours general classification results timeline

Grand Tour 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993
Golden jersey Vuelta a España - - - - - - - - - 14 -
Pink jersey Giro d'Italia - - - WD 1 - 9 - - - 9
Yellow jersey Tour de France 13 25 3 48 1 - WD 44 WD 9 13

WD = Withdrew
- = Did not compete

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Stephen Roche and David Walsh (1988). The Agony and the Ecstasy: Stephen Roche's World of Cycling.
  2. ↑ "Stephen Roche Olympic Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  3. ↑ "La storia del Giro d'Italia". La Repubblica (in Italian).
  4. 1 2 3 Doyle, Paul (5 July 2007). "Roche remembers his annus mirabilis". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 20 July 2007.
  5. ↑ "Loserdom's guide to the 1987 Nissan Classic". Loserdomzine.com. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
  6. ↑ "Tour Heads for home stretch". International Herald tribune. Archived from the original on 22 November 2006. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
  7. ↑ "The last edition of the Nissan Classic". Loserdomzine.com. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
  8. ↑ "Stephen Roche and Sean Kelly are names etched into the psyche of cycling aficionados. Michael Hearn and Brendan Mooney look back over their stunning careers". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 9 July 2007.
  9. ↑ "Sport: Roche denies use of E.P.O.". RTE.ie. 3 January 2000. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
  10. ↑ "Cycling: Roche's name again to forefront in doping investigation". RTE.ie. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
  11. ↑ "Ufficio della procura antidoping del coni". sportpro.it. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 20 July 2007.
  12. ↑ Walsh, David (28 March 2004). "Sad end to Roche's road". The Times (London). Retrieved 20 July 2007.
  13. ↑ "Roche's name again to forefront in doping investigation". rte.ie. 9 January 2000. Retrieved 20 July 2007.
  14. ↑ "No.12 – Tour de France winner Stephen Roche denies allegations by an Italian judge of taking performance enhancing drugs". RTE.ie. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
  15. ↑ "Stephen Roche". http://www.cyclingarchives.com. Retrieved 1 June 2015. External link in |work= (help)
  16. ↑ "Orwell Champions". http://www.orwellwheelers.org. Retrieved 10 June 2015. External link in |work= (help)
  17. ↑ "Paris-Ezy (Fra)". http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.eu/. Retrieved 10 June 2015. External link in |work= (help)
  18. ↑ "1985 World Pro Road Cycling Championships". http://www.bikeraceinfo.com. Retrieved 11 June 2015. External link in |work= (help)

Further reading

External links

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