Resurfacing

Gravel bikes are keeping ex-pro Nicolas Roche busy in retirement

- Mark Bailey

Getting into gravel racing has been a totally fresh experience. I love it so much that I have now set up my own gravel team (NR GRVL). A lot of professional riders quit cycling in their 30s. Stop. Done. But I was 37 when I retired (in October 2021) and that felt young. I was not tired of cycling; I was just tired of the road. I had done the same programme - Paris-Nice, Volta a Catalunya, the Classics, Tour de Romandie, altitude camp, Tour de France, Clásica de San Sebastián, Vuelta a España - for 10-12 years. But I still like to race a bike. And gravel cycling feels 100% new to me.

When Moto GP racers retire, they might become a test pilot, or ride in the World Superbikes. But traditionally road cyclists haven't had much else to do. I want to show that road riders can race gravel too.

I got into gravel last year. A lot of people have a winter bike in Ireland, so it made sense to have a gravel bike. I did the TV show Dancing with the Stars, and afterwards my brother Alexis was telling me about this Gravel World Series race in France. He said: "Why don't we race it?". I said: "Well, I haven't trained in four months!" But I thought: I will just train and see how far I can get, and I will have fun on a boys' weekend with my brother.