ROCHE REALISES GIRO GOAL

Nicolas Roche yesterday achieved his main goal of completing the Giro d’Italia, finishing as part of the main bunch on the final 185 kilometre stage to Milan.

Italian Alessandro Petacchi (Team Milram) showed he is back to his best when he won the bunch gallop, beating Maximiliano Richeze (Ceramica Panaria – Navigare), Paolo Bettini (Quickstep – Innergetic) and the others to hit the line first. It was his fourth such triumph in the race, Petacchi having also won the third, seventh and eleventh stages. He was the clear winner of the points classification.

Compatriot Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) finished in the main bunch, making sure of his overall victory in the race. He had ridden solidly in Saturday’s time trial, covering the 43 kilometre distance 1 minute and 57 seconds behind stage winner Paolo Savoldelli (Astana).

Di Luca was eighth and, crucially, lost just 29 seconds to closest overall challenger Andy Schleck (Team CSC). He ended the day 1 minute and 55 seconds ahead of Schleck, with Eddy Mazzoleni (Astana) overtaking Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval-Prodir) for third overall.

Roche was 85th in the race against the clock, some 6 minutes and 1 second back. He ended the Grand Tour 123rd overall. The Crédit Agricole professional had an at-times difficult race but in completing the three-week event at just 22 years of age, he will be stronger as a result.

He will concentrate now on recovering from his efforts but should be in action again in the national road race championships in Waterford on July 1st.

------

Giro d'Italia, (Italy (May 12-June 3):

Stage 20 - Saturday, June 2: Bardolino - Verona (TT):

1, Paolo Savoldelli (Astana) 43 kilometres in 52 mins 20 secs (49.299 km/h)
2, Eddy Mazzoleni (Astana) at 36 secs
3, David Zabriskie (Team CSC) at 38 secs
4, Laszlo Bodrogi (Crédit Agricole) at 1 min 8 secs
5, Marzio Bruseghin (Lampre – Fondital) at 1 min 16 secs
6, Andy Schleck (Team CSC) at 1min 28 secs

Irish:

85, Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) at 6 min 1 sec


Stage 21 - Sunday, June 3: Vestone – Milano:

1, Alessandro Petacchi (Team Milram) 185 kilometres in 5 hours 18 mins 54 secs (34.807 km/h)
2, Maximiliano Richeze (Ceramica Panaria – Navigare)
3, Paolo Bettini (Quickstep – Innergetic)
4, Giuseppe Palumbo (Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo)
5, Stefano Zanini (Predictor – Lotto)
6, Lloyd Mondory (AG2r Prévoyance) all same time

Irish:

122, Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) same time


Final General classification:

1, Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) 92 hours 59 mins 39 secs
2, Andy Schleck (Team CSC) at 1 min 55 secs
3, Eddy Mazzoleni (Astana) at 2 mins 25 secs
4, Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval – Prodir) at 3 mins 15 secs
5, Damiano Cunego (Lampre – Fondital) at 3 mins 49 secs
6, Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval – Prodir) at 7 mins

Irish:

123, Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) 3 hours 8 mins 17 secs


Points classification:

1, Alessandro Petacchi (Team Milram) 185 pts
2, Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) 130
3, Paolo Bettini (Quickstep – Innergetic) 120
4, Maximiliano Richeze (Ceramica Panaria – Navigare) 107
5, Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval – Prodir) 93
6, Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval – Prodir) 92


Mountains classification:

1, Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval – Prodir) 79 pts
2, Fortunato Baliani (Ceramica Panaria – Navigare) 46
3, Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) 45
4, Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval – Prodir) 41
5, Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval – Prodir) 36
6, Yoann Le Boulanger (Bouygues Telecom) 24

Fast team classification

1, Saunier Duval-Prodir, 278 hours 11 mins 31 secs
2, Liquigas, at 2 mins 53 secs
3, Lampre-Fondital, at 6 mins 6 secs
4, Astana, at 6 mins 56 secs
5, Ceramica Panaria-Navigare, at 10 mins 15 secs
6, Acqua & Sapone-Caffe Mokambo, at 1 hour 2 mins 26 secs


---------

1/6/07 TWO STAGES LEFT FOR ROCHE

Nicolas Roche looks set to complete his first three-week Grand Tour on Sunday, thus achieving his objective of finishing the Giro d’Italia.

Today’s rain-lashed 19th stage was won by the Basque Iban Mayo, the Saunier Duval rider making a return to form after several years of varied results. In 2003 Mayo won the Alpe d’Huez stage of the Tour de France and finished sixth overall, but since then he has flopped in three-week tours.

Mayo finished 43 seconds ahead of Giovanni Visconti (Quickstep – Innergetic) at the end of the 179 kilometre stage to Comano Terme. Race leader Danilo Di Luca and the other overall contenders all came in 3 minutes and 13 seconds down, while Roche was in a group 23 minutes 20 seconds back.

The race continues tomorrow with the penultimate stage, a 43 kilometre individual time trial from Bardolino to Verona. Di Luca has what should be a sufficient 2 minutes 24 second buffer over closest rival Andy Schleck (CSC), with double Giro champion Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval) a further four seconds in arrears.

Roche is 124th overall in the race.

----------

Giro d'Italia, Italy (Grand Tour, May 12-June 3):

Stage 19 - Friday, June 1: Treviso - Comano Terme:

1, Iban Mayo Diez (Saunier Duval – Prodir) 179 kilometres in 4 hours 34 mins 49 secs (38.862 km/h)
2, Giovanni Visconti (Quickstep – Innergetic) at 43 secs
3, Marco Marzano (Lampre – Fondital) at 1 min 4 secs
4, Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank) at 1 min 8 secs
5, Evgeni Petrov (Tinkoff Credit System) same time
6, Mario Aerts (Predictor – Lotto) at 2 mins 54 secs

Irish:

91, Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) at 23 mins 20 secs


General classification after stage 19:

1, Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) 86 hours 46 mins 28 secs
2, Andy Schleck (Team CSC) at 2 mins 24 secs
3, Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval – Prodir) at 2 min 28 secs
4, Damiano Cunego (Lampre – Fondital) at 3 mins 29 secs
5, Eddy Mazzoleni (Astana) at 3 mins 46 secs
6, Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval – Prodir) at 5 mins 19 secs

Irish:

124, Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) at 3 hours 4 mins 13 secs


----------

31/5/07 TOP 15 PLACING FOR ROCHE

Nicolas Roche showed he is recovering well towards the end of the three-week Tour of Italy when he sprinted home to a fine 13th place on stage 18 in Riese Pio X today.

The 22 year old Irish rider finished in the same time as Italian Alessandro Petacchi (Team Milram), who out-galloped Maximiliano Richeze (Ceramica Panaria – Navigare) and 122 others to win his fourth stage of the race.

Race leader Danilo Di Luca finished safely in the group and preserved his 2 minute 24 second advantage over closest rival Andy Schleck (Team CSC). He is favourite to win the three-week tour, with Schleck needing to pull out the time trial of his life to get back the necessary time in Saturday’s race against the clock.

Roche is 125th overall and moves a step closer to his primary goal of finishing the first Grand Tour of his career.

The Giro d’Italia continues tomorrow with a lumpy 179 kilometre stage from Treviso to Comano Terme. If Crédit Agricole rider Roche has anything left in the tank, he may try to go in a long-range attack here as this is the final opportunity for a non-sprinter to figure.

Many other riders will have the same idea, though, so luck and good timing will be as important as decent energy levels.

-------

Giro d'Italia, Italy (Grand Tour, May 12-June 3):

Stage 18 - Thursday, May 31: Udine - Riese Pio X:

1, Alessandro Petacchi (Team Milram) 203 kilometres in 4 hours 32 mins 51 secs (45.739 km/h)
2, Maximiliano Richeze (Ceramica Panaria – Navigare)
3, Matti Breschel (Team CSC)
4, Thomas Fothen (Gerolsteiner)
5, Oscar Gatto (Gerolsteiner)
6, Nikolai Trusov (Tinkoff Credit System) all same time

Irish:

13, Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) same time


General classification after stage 19:

1, Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) 82 hours 8 mins 26 secs
2, Andy Schleck (Team CSC) at 2 mins 24 secs
3, Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval – Prodir) at 2 mins 28 secs
4, Damiano Cunego (Lampre – Fondital) at 3 mins 29 secs
5, Eddy Mazzoleni (Astana) at 3 mins 46 secs
6, Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval – Prodir) at 5 mins 19 secs

Irish:

125, Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) at 2 hours 44 mins 6 secs


----------

30/5/07 DI LUCA HOLDS ON, ROCHE LOOKING GOOD FOR GIRO FINISH

Longtime race leader Danilo Di Luca looks increasingly likely to be crowed Giro d’Italia champion in Milan on Sunday after he withstood the efforts of his chief rivals to wrest the pink jersey off his shoulders today.

The Liquigas rider did lose some time in finishing 4th on the stage to the gruelling Monte Zoncolan, regarded by some as the toughest climb in Europe, but he was able to limit his losses to stage winner Gilberto Simoni, his Saunier Duval team-mate Leonardo Piepoli and the hugely promising young rider Andy Schleck (Team CSC).

Di Luca crossed the line 31 seconds behind Simoni and Piepoli, with Schleck gaining 24 seconds on the race leader.

The Italian had a comfortable buffer starting the stage and ended the day 2 minutes and 24 seconds ahead of Schleck, who moved up to second overall. Simoni is now third, while Eddy Mazzoleni – second this morning – suffered on the steep slopes of the Zoncolan and dropped to fifth overall.

Barring accident, Irish rider Nicolas Roche now looks almost certain to achieve his primary aim of completing his first Grand Tour. He finished 104th today and should have a much easier time on tomorrow’s flat 203 kilometre run from Udine to Riese Pio X.


(Note: During the stages, live coverage of the race can be viewed at www.rai.it)

----


Giro d'Italia, Italy (Grand Tour, May 12-June 3):

Stage 17 - Wednesday, May 30: Lienz (Austria) - Monte Zoncolan:

1, Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval – Prodir) 142 kilometres in 3 hours 51 mins 52 secs (36.745 km/h)
2, Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval – Prodir) same time
3, Andy Schleck (Team CSC) at 7 secs
4, Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) at 31 secs
5, Damiano Cunego (Lampre – Fondital) at 37 secs
6, Massimo Codol (Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) at 58 secs

Irish:

104, Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) at 15 mins 5 secs


General classification after stage 17:

1, Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) 77 hours 35 mins 35 secs
2, Andy Schleck (Team CSC) at 2 mins 24 secs
3, Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval – Prodir) at 2 mins 28 secs
4, Damiano Cunego (Lampre – Fondital) at 3 mins 29 secs
5, Eddy Mazzoleni (Astana) at 3 mins 46 secs
6, Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval – Prodir) at 5 mins 19 secs

Irish:

126, Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) at 2 hours 44 mins 6 secs


----------

30/5/07 ROCHE GETTING CLOSE TO MILAN

Nicolas Roche faces arguably the toughest climb in Europe, the Zoncolan, on today’s gruelling 17th stage of the Tour of Italy. However the 22 year old will be boosted by the knowledge that he has just five days left before he finishes his first Grand Tour in Milan on Sunday.

Completing the three-week race was his primary goal. Roche knows that it will further his development as a rider, building his endurance and experience.

Roche finished in the main bunch yesterday, the group being led into Lienz by nineteenth-placed Laszlo Bodrogi (Crédit Agricole). They were 8 minutes and 10 seconds behind stage winner Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo).

Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) continues to lead closest rival Eddy Mazzoleni (Astana) by one minute 51 seconds. Roche is 127th overall.

-----

Giro d'Italia, Italy (Grand Tour, May 12-June 3)

Stage 16 - Tuesday, May 29: Agordo (Dolomiti Stars) - Lienz (Austria):

1, Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 189 kilometres in 5 hours 34 mins 7 secs (33.94 km/h)
2, Laurent Mangel (AG2r Prévoyance) at 1 min 1 sec
3, Ricardo Serrano Gonzalez (Tinkoff Credit System)
4, José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team)
5, Pietro Caucchioli (Crédit Agricole)
6, Pablo Lastras Garcia (Caisse d'Epargne) both same time

Irish:

100, Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) at 8 mins 10 secs


19 Laszlo Bodrogi (Crédit Agricole 8.10

100 Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole


General classification after stage 16:

1, Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) 73 hours 43 mins 12 secs
2, Eddy Mazzoleni (Astana) at 1 min 51 secs
3, Andy Schleck (Team CSC) at 2 mins 56 secs
4, Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval – Prodir) at 3 mins 19 secs
5, Damiano Cunego (Lampre – Fondital) at 3 mins 23 secs
6, Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval – Prodir) at 3 mins 39 secs

Irish:

127, Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) at 2 hours 29 mins 32 secs