Over the last couple of years I've started to notice that Nicolas Roche gets a lot of media attention, especially in the English-speaking media, something that has always surprised me because I always figured he was just another son of a star.
More recently a lot of the news stories are about fairly mundane issues, the sort that you would expect to hear about a rider challenging for the big events, how an injury or illness has set back their preparation for their major aim of the season or how a mundane result in a minor three-day race is showing that he is on track for the season. Last week Roche was back in the news, this time because he tore his hamstring causing him to abandon the Tour of Romandie. It is now being reported as how this might, “put in jeopardy his participation in the Tour de France” almost as if he is a contender for that event. Now, if this was Andy Schleck or Bertie Contador, then it might be interesting to the average cycling fan, but Roche?
Now it's not as if Roche isn't a bad rider and is undeserving of some recognition, especially with a name like his. His results over the years are showing him to be a reliable rider who is still progressing and, at 25, still has time on his side. He has the potential for winning some good races in the coming years. The one thing he hasn't shown yet is that he is a winner. Discounting a couple of stages in small stage races and his national championship wins, his palmarès are nothing more than placings in lesser events and occasional top-30's in some classics and Grand Tours. These are good results, but nothing great. So why the media interest in him?
The obvious reason is that he is the son of Stephen Roche and therefore he suffers from the “Son of” syndrome. This is the expectation, or perhaps even desperation, that the offspring of a great champion will also become a great champion. Axel Merckx suffered from this, but he always made a great point of being realistic about his abilities and made it very clear that he was not his dad and so people shouldn't expect the same results from him. I have seen nothing to suggest that Roche isn't just as realistic, but has anyone told the press?
Irish cycling has historically punched well above it's weight. Back in the golden era of the 80's, of the four top-level pro riders, two went on to become legends in the sport. But throughout the 90's Irish riders were reduced to bit-part players on second-tier pro teams. So should it come as a big surprise that with the emergence of new talent, especially talent with a famous father, that this is heralded as a new dawn of success for such a small cycling nation. New riders have a pretty fearsome legacy to follow.
Journalists are promoting “their” man. But if this is the case why is there not as much press for Dan Martin or Philip Deignan? Martin does get a fair amount of attention from the British print media, but unlike Roche, both Martin and Deignan do appear to be a genuine big-race contenders. In 2009 Martin was second to Valverde in the Tour of Cataluyna and picked up a top-10 at Lombardia, not bad for a second-year pro. Likewise Deignan won a stage and finished 9th in the Vuelta, these results suggest great potential, yet they are both far less prominent in the media than Roche.
It is probably unfortunate for Roche that he does have such a famous father, it will always make life difficult for him. In contrast, while Dan Martin is Roche's cousin and also the son of a racing cyclist, his father, although a good domestic level racer, was not in the same league as Roche. The other factor is that the famous son became the flag-bearer for the revival of Irish cycling. Although both he and Deignan turned pro at the same time and at the same level, Roche was delivering better results earlier. I don't think that it's Roche's fault, but I just don't think that he is as good as the media are making him out to be. Time will always tell, but I can't see Roche ever being considered a contender for anything other than small stage races and the occasional stage of a grand tour.
Photo: McSmit
