Nicolas Roche has a history of coming strongly out of grand tours and this time he seems to have done it again. Having recently finished the Giro d'Italia, he won today's queen stage of the Route du Sud and now feels ready to support Albert Contador in the Tour de France.

Nicolas Roche was victorious on the second stage of Route du Sud finishing on the tough climb of Val Louron after having climbed both Col du Tourmalet and Col d’Aspin. He pulled of a superb solo win in front of his own teammate Michael Rogers and strong rivals such as Alejandro Valverde.
 
“I’m really satisfied and happy for this victory. It’s amazing that all the hard work has finally paid of with a victory, which is of course one of my main goals during the season besides supporting my teammates”, says Nicolas Roche and continues.
 
“It was a super tough stage today with many of the climbs you’ll normally see in the Tour and a strong competition to make it even more difficult. But we managed to pull it of today. Furthermore, it confirms that I’ve recovered after the Giro and that I’m ready for the Tour”, he says after crossing the finish line.
 
An early breakaway got a few minutes during the stage. But especially Tinkoff-Saxo and Movistar obviously showed that they had different plans than letting a breakaway take the win by keeping a high and steady pace up the three main climbs of the stage. At the bottom of the last climb, Val Louron, the pace was increased and only a select few remained in front.
 
“Edward Beltran worked really hard and maintained a high tempo on the climb. He really hurt a lot of guys out there today. With 5 k to go, Edward pulled of the front and I attacked straight away knowing that Michael was ready in the group of favorites just behind me as a second option. So I had the confidence to just put everything at stake and go a 100 percent for the win”, says Roche and congratulates teammate Michael Rogers, who took second place 40 seconds behind him.