Cycling/ Giro d'Italia: Young Irish rider Nicolas Roche has said he is content after two stages of the Giro d'Italia.
The 22-year-old made his Grand Tour debut in Saturday's opening team time trial, where his Crédit Agricole squad were eighth out of 22 teams. They finished one minute and 13 seconds behind the victors, Liquigas.
Roche placed 113th on yesterday's second stage in Sardinia, a tough 205 kilometre road race to Bosa. He said he was feeling strong but lost some time on the final climb before the finish, crossing the line in a group one minute and 37 seconds behind the stage winner Robbie McEwen (Predictor-Lotto).
"I am pleased with things so far," he said yesterday evening. "It is great riding with the top teams and riders in a race like this. The team was pretty good in the time trial yesterday and I was feeling pretty strong there as well. I was happy with that.
"I was feeling pretty good today too, until that last climb! I pushed it too hard on the descent before the final climb, riding too hard, and then cramped on the climb as a result. But that happens. The heat may have got to me a bit, too.
"I am happy enough with things. Losing a minute today isn't the end of the Giro. There is still a long way and hopefully I will be able to pace myself well on the steadier climbs. That will be more interesting to see."
Roche has said that if he feels good, he will ride aggressively on selected stages in the race. His main goal is to finish the three- week tour, knowing it will help his development in the pro ranks, but going clear on the attack on one or more days is also a target.
The three-week Giro d'Italia continues today with a 181 kilometre stage from Barumini to Cagliari. The riders then fly to the Italian mainland where the race will resume on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, speaking at a news conference in Sardinia, UCI president Pat McQuaid said Italian rider Ivan Basso did not deserve a reduced ban for admitting his involvement in the Spanish Operation Puerto doping scandal.
Italian media have speculated the 2006 Giro d'Italia champion may hope to obtain a reduction because of his admission.
But McQuaid told a media conference: "He has now admitted his guilt but for nine months he lied to everyone in the cycling family, to the media, to sponsors and even when he went into a new team, he lied to his new team mates."
He added: "I don't believe he deserves a reduction (in any suspension). The rules state that riders need to give specific information and name names. We have not seen that."
Olympic champion Chris Hoy of Scotland went agonisingly close to setting a world record for the kilometre time trial at his second attempt at the Alto Irpavi velodrome in La Paz, Bolivia yesterday.
Looking to better the mark of 58.875 seconds set by France's Arnaud Tournant in 2001, the 31-year-old finished just five thousandths of a second outside the record in clocking 58.880secs.
