Nicolas Roche had a successful road professional career that extended across nearly two decades with highlight two stage triumphs at the Vuelta a Espana. The Irishman hung up his bike at the end of 2021, but since then he didn’t just sit on his sofa idly. In the subsequent years, Roche picked up gravel racing and even celebrated moderate success with several podium finishes in United States.
Not only racing in the mud, Roche has also invested in businesses, as well as being a brand ambassador for Bianchi and working regularly as a TV cycling commentator. And now it seems as though his return to road is inevitable.
“I’ve been talking to some teams already and I was actually offered a job this year,” Roche told stickybottle. That this possibility is really on the table is underlined by the fact that the 41-year-old Roche undertook the “And that has nothing to do with the fact I did this (UCI) exam. I had applied to do it at the start of the year. I said to myself ‘I want to have these options.'”
As a former WorldTour rider, Roche automatically completed the Level 1 and Level 2 of the UCI sports director course. Using this license, he spent some time with the Trinity Racing team in the 2022-2023 period, whilst he also helped the Irish national team. However, in order to work as a DS at a WorldTour level, he was required to have the UCI ‘Level 3’ qualification. Hence the exam.
For now, there are no immediate plans to sit in the team car as Roche enjoys a fulfilling gravel career. But thinking ahead to the future, the Irishman knows that there will come a time where he’ll need to choose a new career path. “I’m not going to be riding gravel races and being a brand ambassador forever,” Roche knows.
“At some point there’s going to be somebody cooler and younger that will take up that job. And it’s already been a major adventure with Bianchi for the last three years. I’m definitely going to do another year with them as a brand ambassador, I’m traveling the world to events with them. But I want to have that (World Tour DS) option for the next two to three years. I’ve been talking with a team a little bit more seriously for the near future. But I don’t know if I’d be a full-time sports director,” he said.
Dream of Grand Tour return
While full-time sports directors often spend up to one third of the year on road, it’s not unusual for teams to also hire some DS personnel “part-time” to spend about half the time in team car. For Roche scch an arrangement would appeal as it would bode well with his TV commentator work and other projects.
As for Grand Tours, that wouldn’t be immediately on the menu although Roche finds the idea of doing three-week tour with a team exciting. “For the moment, it will be about finding the project that works and then the timing that works,” he said. “But it’s in the pipeline. I’m not sure when. But I didn’t do the exam just for the sake of having it. I just want to have it so I have that extra little choice.”