Nicolas Roche (Team Sky) had his best result of the season today when he finished in second place on an incredibly exciting final stage of the Tour de Yorkshire (UCI 2.1).
The Irish rider was edged into second by Thomas Voeckler (Direct Energie) on the 198-kilometre stage from Middlesbrough to Scarborough and the time bonus gained for the stage win enabled the French rider to win overall, 6″ ahead of Roche.
On an incredibly aggressive stage, Team Sky did much of the work to split the race apart and leave Roche in a strong position to win the race.
The team had ripped the race to bits on the North Yorkshire Moors with splits forming on the steep hills and crosswinds causing echelons to form.
With 100 kilometres still remaining, the front group was down to just about 40 riders, and this was further reduced as they neared the finish.
On the outskirts of Scarborough, Roche and Voeckler went clear. Coming into the finish, Voeckler timed his jump perfectly and Roche was unable to do anything about it.
“The plan was to do more or less what we did,” said Roche after the race. “The guys were really, really good today. This morning we set out the plan. Everyone had a proper role and really committed to what they had to do. Myself and Lars were to attack in the finish which we did. But with Voeckler when it comes to the cat and mouse game he’s number one.”
Sport Director Brett Lancaster was understandably proud of the effort the team showed. “What can you say? It was an incredible day with some really horrible conditions out there for the riders,” he told TeamSky.com.
“It was our goal to make it hard and it worked well. We had enough guys in the front. Nico did a fantastic job. He was super strong and I would have loved him to get the win. He’s been working really hard this year and he’s certainly ready for the Giro. The boys rode really well. It would have been really nice to pull off the win but that’s cycling. Full credit to Thomas Voeckler – he did a great ride.
“Everyone did a great job – Andy, Xabi and Danny doing the early work, then Pete came through for a huge stint. Luke was very strong towards the end and he came back across a few times. He went really deep. Gianni – what can you say. He was amazing today. All the guys rode their hearts out.”
