Nicolas Roche put Tinkoff-Saxo's new Tour de France strategy on show when he attacked in the finale of stage 11. The Irishman had team leader Alberto Contador in his thoughts when he launched his ultimately fruitless acceleration.

Nicolas Roche made it quit clear on today’s 11th stage of Tour de France that Tinkoff-Saxo is ready to attack. Roche attacked from the distance, caught the breakaway and continued on by himself before being caught on the final descent.
 
“We had a plan to attack in the final on the last climb but when other riders started to go, I thought ‘why not attack now and try from the distance’. I saw that I had a good chance of reaching the front group but the pace was very high in the peloton”, Nicolas Roche explains after the stage.
 
Since the crash and exit of team leader Alberto Contador the focus on Tinkoff-Saxo has shifted from winning the overall classification to winning stages with the remaining strong riders.
 
“When I attacked I definitely had Alberto in my thoughts. We are very proud of him and we were so dedicated in our efforts to support him. Now we must focus on setting new goals and we wanted to start straight away today. No point in waiting if you see a good opportunity”, Roche adds.
 
The remaining seven riders on Tinkoff-Saxo are in peak condition and all have good chances of getting in the break and potentially winning stages.
 
“It’s important for us, that we’re all capable of going for a stage win. I will definitely attack again but not every day because then I would waste too much energy. But when the stage suits me, we’ll have the matching strategy”, concludes Nicolas Roche.
 
Roche won the combativity award on the stage, while Daniele Bennati finished in fourth place behind stage winner Tony Gallopin