Encouraged by its grande partenza taking place on his home soil, Nicolas Rocha lines up at the Giro d’Italia for the first time since his debut in the three-week event in 2007, with an ambition to finish the race within the top ten in the general classification. The Tinkoff-Saxo co-captain confessed that his last of experience on the Italian roads may be disadvantageous, but hopes to make up for it thanks to well-known opening stages when anything can happen..

Roche pointed out that while there are usually no more than three candidates to take the spoils in the three-week event, they are followed by an army of riders capable of making a top ten result and many random factors have a final impact on the general classification.

"The nice thing about the Giro or any three-week race is that there are always two or three who are there for the podium and then 20 other riders who are capable of doing anything between fourth and 20th," Roche said. "There's always somebody who has bad day, somebody who blows up during the Giro. So it's hard to say where I'll end up. Hopefully in the top 10, that would be nice. I'd be disappointed if I'm not there."

The 29-year old Irishman was consequently riding the Tour-Vuelta double, and admitted that his lack of experience on a ground of racing in Italy certainly won’t play in his favour. However, he hopes to adapt to the Italian style of racing before the Giro reaches its decisive stages.

"I haven't done the Giro since 2007, so I'm a bit inexperienced in that sense. It's raced very differently to the Tour or the Vuelta, so I'll have to adapt to this race as I don't know it very well," he said. "I don't have points of reference. I don't know the climbs because I've never done them apart from the Stelvio and a couple of others."

While Roche was reluctant to admit that his knowledge of roads he raced on as a child may turn advantageous for him and the Tinkoff-Saxo team, he confirmed that difficult weather conditions may be an important factor during unpredictable, opening stages of the Italian grand tour.

"If the Giro wasn't starting in Ireland, then I probably would have done the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España like before, as I've followed that programme for the past few years," said Roche, who admitted that he hadn't even considered the potential for crosswinds on the Irish stages until his teammates voiced their concerns on arrival in Belfast.

"When I think of wind, I always think of the echelons in Belgium and northern France, but since we've arrived here, everyone's been talking about the wind and I've realised that it's probably stronger here in Belgium," he said.

"I've always just seen it as something natural and I didn't really see it as something that could have an impact on the race on Saturday, but the more I think about it, the more I realise that it could have an effect. There are teams who might be tempted to try something. The roads here aren't the widest and there mightn't be room for everybody to get in the echelon. Anything can happen at the Giro, even on the second day."