Roche and Martin ready for Giro d’Italia

With the Giro d'Italia just one week away, Ireland's Nicolas Roche is building his form by participating in the Tour de Romandie in Switzerland.

Roche hasn’t raced much this year, an injury over the winter delaying the start to his season and he then chose to spent a long stretch at a team training camp in Sicily.

He missed the Ardennes Classics but returned to competition this week for a race won three times by his father.

Roche has had a quiet race thus far, although he will hope to show good form in the upcoming mountain stages.

He was 51st in the opening prologue on Tuesday, 20 second off the winning time, then 18th in Wednesday’s first stage. He was 51st yesterday and is now 28th overall, 29 seconds off Michael Albasini’s race lead.

Meanwhile, Roche's first cousin Dan Martin is finalising his preparation for the Giro. He went agonisingly close to winning a second consecutive Liège-Bastogne-Liège Classic on Sunday but crashed on the final corner.

Despite the fact he could have stayed away from the chasing group and taken the victory, he was philosophical about it this week.

“I was upset on Sunday but I am completely at peace with it now. It is only a bike race, at the end of the day, even though it was an important one, an amazing one. I would be a lot more upset if I hadn’t won last year.”

Martin said that rather than mulling over what might have been, he is turning his attention to the Giro and his bid to ride as well as possible there.

Philip Deignan will also ride the Italian event, which begins in Belfast next Friday.