Nicholas Roche finished a brilliant 5th in this year's edition of the Vuelta a Espana but may now put his personal ambitions on hold for the 2014 edition of the Spanish grand tour. Teammate Alberto Contador has made his intentions of a Tour-Vuelta double clear and that may force the Irishman into a domestique role in his preferred three-week race.

Having played the role of loyal domestique in most races this season, Nicholas Roche got a rare opportunity to lead the Saxo-Tinkoff team at the Vuelta a Espana and he grabbed the chance with both hands. Already on the second day of racing, the Irishman won a big mountain stage and he kept going all the way to the finish to take what was a career-best 5th on GC.

The result may have been Roche's best in a grand tour but was the culmination of a steady progress in the Spanish three-week race. In 2008, he made his debut in the race and finished 13th in his first attempt. When he returned to the event two years later, he was 7th, and he finished 16th and 12th in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

Those results prove that the Spanish grand tour suits Roche well and the Irishman has done nothing to hide that he loves the race and wants to target it in the future. When he joined Saxo-Tinkoff prior to this season, he hoped to learn from riding in support of team captain Alberto Contador in certain races while getting his own chances in other events. That's what he did this year when he worked for Contador in the Tour and made use of the added experience to ride his best-ever grand tour in Spain.

Next year there may be less room for Roche to continue his upwards trajectory in the Vuelta. This year Contador decided to take a rest following his Tour campaign and desisted from defending his 2012 title but that is likely to change for next season. A few weeks ago, the grand tour star announced that he plans to ride both the Tour and the Vuelta in 2014.

This may force Roche into a domestique role in the three-week race he loves the most. The Irishman carefully weighed his words when asked about his future Vuelta opportunities but was clearly concerned about the situation.

"No, we haven't talked about that [the 2014 schedule] yet," he told CyclingQuotes after the Worlds time trial. "But it's true I've read on the internet that Alberto says that he wants to go for the Vuelta so obviously that's going to put a big stop to my personal ambitions in that race."

"Every year I've gone for the Vuelta over the last 4-5 years," he added. "The Vuelta is a race that I like and I've one top 5, two top 10s and four top 13s. It's a race that I like to go good in every year. I guess I have to look into what the riders' programme is, what the team wants, and what my role is."

If Contador leads the team at the Vuelta a Espana, an alternative option for Roche could be to target the Giro. The Italian grand tour starts in Northern Ireland and enters his native Ireland on the 3rd day before returning to Italy.

Roche will bring his 2013 season to a close on Sunday when he rides the final monument of the season, Il Lombardia.