Nicolas Roche has built a new life for himself since he retired from racing and now, he tells stickybottle, he’s eyeing the next chapter; sports director work in the World Tour (Photo: Marco Alpozzi)

Nicolas Roche has not let the grass grow under his feet since hanging up his World Tour wheels at the end of the 2021 season. The double Vuelta stage winner has continued to race, on the gravel scene

He has also invested in businesses, as well as being a brand ambassador for Bianchi and working regularly as a TV cycling commentator.

And now his latest move has been to complete the UCI’s ‘Level 3’ exam for sports directors, which is required by anyone working as a DS in a World Tour team.

Roche told stickybottle he had taken the exam with a view to a new opportunity. Though he is continuing his work with Bianchi and has also loved his TV work, he has also recently been in talks with a team about working as a sports director for them in the not too distant future.

“I’ve been talking to some teams already and I was actually offered a job this year,” he said. “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 World Tour rider, Roche was not required to do Level 1 and Level 2 of the UCI sports director course. He has previously worked as director with Andrew McQuaid’s Trinity Racing for periods in 2022 and 2023, and for the Irish team.

However, he now wants to work as a DS for a World Tour team and, as such, he has to have the UCI ‘Level 3’ qualification and has just taken that exam.

“I’m not going to be riding gravel races and being a brand ambassador forever,” said Roche. “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.

While full-time sports directors could do 120 days on the road per year, teams also hire some DS personnel to do between 60 and 70 days. Roche said that arrangement would appeal to him as it would afford him the chance to do other things, including his TV commentary work.

He added, though he would love to work as a DS on Grand Tours immediately he joins a new team, he may need to work his way up the management pecking and progress to Grand Tours after a couple of seasons.

“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.”