Nicolas Roche, the man who never stopped moving forward

He arrives, Slim figure, calm smile, helmet under his arm. The autumn wind kicks up a little dust on the path, the kind he knows so well now. Nicholas Roche has just endorsed his first rainbow jersey, the Gravel one, this free and wild discipline where we invent ourselves with each new path. Thirty-six years after his father Stephen, another Roche is wearing the colors of the world. But this time, it's a new story, a chapter of his own. Stephen's son, the runner of the World Tour, the discreet captain, the man of duty... he closed this chapter quietly, without drama, with the same elegance he used to get up after a fall. And today, he moves forward, still on two wheels, but on different terrain. When the recent Gravel world champion granted us this interview, it wasn't just about talking about performances, watts or records. It was about talk about life, renaissance, what remains when the counter timer stops. A sincere, human, sometimes modest, often luminous dialogue, in the image of this man who made cycling much more than a job: a mirror of his existence.

By Jeff Tatard – Photos: @roche_nicholas

The beginnings: when the name becomes a route

Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, early 80s... A little boy runs around the garden wearing a jersey that's too big and a bike that's too small.

On the frame, a sticker in the colors of Ireland, a souvenir of this father whom everyone admires. Stephen Roche. World champion, winner of the Giro, the Tour, and the Vuelta. A legendary hat trick etched in the history books. And, already, a huge shadow in which we must learn to stand tall.

On the Vélo Club stage, alongside his father in his yellow jersey, little Nicolas is already discovering the spotlight. Without knowing it, he has just entered the world that will become his.

“Cycling has always been a part of my life,” Nicolas confides to us, in a calm, collected voice. “Since I was little, I played at being a cyclist.” It's a simple sentence, but it says it all: cycling has never been a discovery, much less a rebellion. It was obvious. Not an obligation. A presence.

A bit like those landscapes that we think we know by heart, until one day, we decide to trace our own route.

His is really starting to 12 years.

THEIreland, the return, the family, the wind, the rain.

He entered a local race, with no ambition other than that of a kid who wanted to have fun. He finished secondAnd that day, in the humid September air, a seed sinks. “I decided to do more the following year.”

Two years later, rugby, another Irish passion, tore his cruciate ligaments. An injury like a signal. His body told him to choose. Cycling is a must. Definitely.

Growing up with a name like Roche is both aan engine and a burden. “It was a mixture,” he admits. “Always a pressure, because I was never good enough. People always said, ‘He’ll never be like his father.’” But there was also pride. The pride of having a name written in school textbooks, the pride of having a role model at home, not on a poster. “My father is in my contemporary history book, can you imagine?” he told us with a smile. A heritage both inspiring and cumbersome. A compass and a weight.

In Ireland, wearing his father's legendary Carrera jersey, Nicolas Roche raised his arms and received the trophy from Stephen. The perfect symbol of a story that, on that day, truly became his own.

Between France and Ireland, Nicolas builds a plural identity. Two languages, two cultures, two sensibilities. "I see it as an opportunity. I love and am proud of both my roots. I've lived in the south for a long time, so I may have a French leaning," he laughed.

But Ireland remains in the soul. It was there that he learned courage and simplicity. Two qualities that would accompany him throughout the peloton.

Seventeen years in the peloton: the job before the glory

Seventeen years of World Tour. Just that. A figure that sums up the longevity of a professional, more than a fortune hunter. “My consistency is what I’m most proud of.”

Roche is about consistency, rigor, and effective discretion. In a peloton often dominated by flamboyant figures, he chose to be reliable. Always ready, always fair, always professional.

Of course, there are regrets. “I would have liked to win more, especially a stage of the Tour.”

But cycling isn't just about finish lines.. There are those days of invisible work, these relays to perfection, these victories which do not appear next to his name but to which he contributed. “I helped and played an important role in the victory of my leaders in the most beautiful races in the world.” And it is there, without doubt, that the nobility of his career is measured.

In the Saxo Bank jersey, Nicolas Roche already illustrated what he remained throughout his career: a craftsman of consistency, a professional to his fingertips, also capable of raising his arms in the Vuelta, when tenacity finally paid off.

Fall, get up, start again

Un sharp turn. “That year, I lost almost everything.” Divorce, injuries, weariness. “I couldn’t train anymore.” But he doesn't give up. “Cycling kept my head above water.” Because for Nicolas, cycling is not a job: it’s a spine.

He never thought of stopping everything. Never.“I have always fought, in all circumstances.” This isn't just a lip service. It's in his DNA.

And in this world where the light changes from one day to the next, he keeps a simple philosophy : “Being a pro is a way of life. Even on vacation, you can't overdo it, because you pay for it later.” He laughs, but you can feel the experience behind the words. "That's the difference with other sports: there's no real decompression phase. Even on rest days, you have to pay attention to everything."

After the storms, a moment of calm. Nicolas Roche enjoys a glass of wine, far from the tumult of the peloton. The former pro finally breathes at his own pace: that of a man who has earned his freedom.

It is a form ofasceticism. But also a freedom : that of se coto be born perfectly. To be self-master in a world that imposes everything on you. What if he had to do things again? "Not much." A disarmingly simple answer. "I don't like to think about it. Because it won't change the present."

The transition: reinventing the route

For many athletes, the retreat current is a black hole and a Silence after the noise.

Nicolas, for his part, went for it. “It’s not easy, but I preferred to move forward.”

No break, no pampering. He chains the Ongoing trips collaborations. “I travel 300 days a year. I have four or five different activities. I don’t allow myself to rest. The time is now.”

The tone is energetic, determined. He doesn't speak like a retiree, but like an entrepreneur. He knows that in sports, memories are short. "The mistake many make is to take their foot off the gas and then say 'I've been forgotten.'"

Il reconYet it is clear that some days are hard. "My head is still accepting that it's over. Even though I'm the one who chose to stop."

In the colors of AG2R LA MONDIALE, with Irish piping on his sleeves, Nicolas Roche raises his arms. The image of a rider at the height of his strength, one that you never truly lose, even when your career ends.

So, he reinvented himself. Not in a vacuum, but on the bike. Gravel came as a breath of fresh air. “It was the desire to stay in shape, to travel, to see cycling from a different angle.”

And this time, no radio, no earpieces, no precise strategies. Only dust, solitude, freedom. A freedom won by the strength of calves and experience.

His title of Gravel world champion, he doesn't see it as revenge. Rather as a reconbirth. "I've been here since the beginning of European Gravel. I've worked with organizers, with the UCI, I've given advice, done promotion. This title is a thank you for the sacrifices I continue to make."

And when asked what this title really represents, he looks up, searches for the words. “A lot. Especially after breaking my hip in February.” A sentence, short, modest, but of immense density.

It is no longer defined by rankings.

Today it's an ambassador. Not just a brand, but bya way of life. Free, curious, balanced.

Nicolas Roche dons the Gravel World Champion jersey. A simple gesture, full of meaning: the reward for years of passion,tagand reinvention.

=> To follow his news, his Gravel adventures and his projects around the world, find Nicolas Roche on Instagram : @nicolasroche

Discipline and philosophy: more than motivation

For Nicolas, mental strength is not a postureIt's a healthy lifestyle. A way of being in the world.

He has weathered storms, endured doubts, and faced routine. But he never confused motivation with discipline. “The head is important, but it takes much more than that.”

“Motivation pushes you to start. Discipline keeps you from stopping.”

He believes this discipline is both innate and cultivated. A seed that is watered every day, with the sweat of one's brow. And when he doesn't feel like it—because yes, it happens—he doesn't force himself out of obligation. "I don't like obligations. Today, my balance is there. I'm not a gravel pro. I'm a brand ambassador, I race, but I no longer have anything to prove or be accountable."

It's a mature relationship with performance.

That of a man who learned to detach himself without denying himself.

Success, for him, no longer has the same face. It is not on a podium. It is in balance. In the fact of loving what he does, to transmit, to into inhale. "I'm not sure what success is. But this title means a lot, especially after what I've been through."

On the Dancing with the Stars stage, alongside Karen Byrne, Nicolas Roche rediscovers a different kind of discipline. The same high standards, the same precision, but this time, to the rhythm of the music, not the watts.

Image, sincerity and style

On the networks, Nicolas Roche appears as he is: simple, smiling, stylish.

Not in the calculation, not in the staging.

"It's me, it's all me. For it to last 20 years, it has to be natural. You can't play a role for that long."

This is probably why his community follows him, with respect and affection. Because he doesn't preach, he speakstage. Because he doesn't overplay, he embodies.

Yes, he likes fashion. Beautiful things, beautiful objects. "It relaxes me," he said.

And it feels like: a sure taste, a sober style, a balance between sporty and aesthetic.

On his Vespa, wearing sunglasses and a calm smile: Nicolas Roche pokes fun at the cliché of the "fashion victim." But behind the style, there's the same authenticity. Simply a man who feels comfortable in his own skin.

When White contacted him, it was as a matter of course. "They called me in 2022, saying: we think we can do projects together. I had never raced with them, but I knew our images were compatible."

Your collaborations are not image contracts, but stories of values.

Of authenticity. Of trust.

And it is this authenticity that gives it today a real place of inspiration.

"I think so, yes, I have a role. But I don't advocate any extreme. My life is about showing that all it takes is balance."

Balance. Always. “I like wine, but I'm careful. I train, even if I have other things to do. When I'm injured, I fight to come back. Because I want to show that it's possible.” And he does it. Quietly. Consistently.

On the networks, many thank him.

unknown, often. enthusiasts, sometimes wounded, often weary, who find in his journey proof that one can always get up. "It makes me proud to know that, perhaps, one day, I helped someone not to give up on their project."

This is perhaps the finest achievement of his second life.

Bianchi Reparto Corse, the beauty of the gesture, the purity of the line. Nicolas Roche finds in it what he has always sought: a balance between rigor and serenity.

Vision, future, message

The world of cycling is changing, opening up, and fragmenting. But Nicolas remains faithful to a clear line: sincerity and perseverance.

When asked what message he would like to convey, he looks down at his left leg. A tattoo. Three words. Never give up.

This is not a marketing ploy.

It's a scar transformed into currency.

A way to remember that every fall, every injury, every doubt, can become a springboard.

Nicolas Roche never sought to be the strongestHe wanted to be the most truthful. The one who cheats neither with others nor with himself. And in a world saturated with images and postures, This honesty has the quiet strength of the great.

“Never give up,” engraved on the skin. More than a message, it's a promise Nicolas Roche made to himself.

Epilogue – What remains, when the route stop

When he puts the foot on the ground, Nicolas does not look back. There is no nostalgia, no “it was better before.” There is a peaceful gratitude. That of having lived a full life.

He was the son of, then the runner, then the captain, then thefree manAnd at each stage, he knew how to redefine himself, without denying the previous stage.

He didn't just roll over the routes of the world. He rolled through doubts, expectations, boundaries, labels.

And he's still there, on the bike, a smile on his face, Gravel dust on the legs, the wind in the face.

Because in the end, he never stopped being this kid from Conflans, the one who played at being a cyclist. Except that today, he no longer needs to play.

“Never give up.” Three words, a thousand lives.

And, somewhere between the France and Ireland, a man who continues to move forward, silently but with intensity, because the route, for him, has not never really ends.

=> All our Portraits articles