I rode the Tour de France alongside my legendary brother but was forced to retire… now I’m an Elvis impersonator

11 months ago 86

FORMER Tour de France rider Laurence Roche has swapped his racing skinsuit for the iconic Elvis jumpsuit after he was forced to retire at the age of just 24.

The Irishman had just reached the pinnacle of the sport in the middle of 1991 when he completed in cycling’s biggest bike race.

Yet just months later he was working as a security guard and wondering where his life was heading.

But now, more than three decades later, he is a thriving businessman and an Elvis performer.

Roche, now 56, completed the 1991 Tour de France four years after his brother, Stephen Roche, became the first Irishman to win the race.

He had watched Stephen, eight years his senior, follow his cycling dream in 1980 – before he went on to win the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and world title all in 1987 – a feat that has not been achieved by a male rider since.

Laurence made the calculations – as a 12-year-old boy – that he would be able to do the same in 1989.

And he did just that as he spent three years riding for Carrera Jeans-Vagabond – a period which crescendoed with his participation in the Tour.

Speaking exclusively to SunSport, he said: “To get to ride the Tour de France, it’s every cyclist’s dream. It’s like every footballer wants to play in the World Cup. I was watching the Beckham documentary and it’s just amazing – the same kind of thing.

“It’s one thing representing Ireland at the world championships but the pinnacle is the Tour de France. When you get to ride the Tour de France, you can kind of die at peace after that.”

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Recalling the speed of the peloton at the 1991 Tour, which he started with Stephen, he added: “I remember riding through this town and I looked at my speedometer and we were doing 82km/h.

“I was at the back on the flat, it was 35C, no wind, no tailwind or anything. We were lined out, I looked down [and saw] 82km/h and thought ‘Christ’. It was just unreal.”

But later that year, Laurence was told the gut-wrenching news that the team were losing their sponsor.

Due to the nature of the sport at the time, this resulted in him having to give up cycling less than three years after turning professional.

Cycling career cut brutally short

He said: “July 1991, I have cramp in my hand from signing autographs at the Tour de France.

“July 1992, I’m working as a security guard in a factory, working 16-hour night shifts. It blows your brains altogether.

“From the age of 12 I had this dream in my mind that I’m going to ride the Olympics, turn professional, that’s going to start my career. So this wasn’t an option that I’d be stopping so early.

“I had nothing. I had no goal. You’re just sort of dumped.”

Laurence eventually pulled himself together and put his cycling career behind him, taking on a job in a factory, before he completed a business degree.

He went on to sell property in Spain, but returned to Ireland to start a business linked to his career in the saddle – setting up and operating cycle-to-work schemes.

And while Laurence’s main pursuit is still running and expanding the company, he has also dabbled in music in recent years.

Spontaneous karaoke to gigs as The King

He has made a name for himself as a local Elvis impersonator, a hobby he stumbled upon by chance at a pub karaoke night.

Laurence took to the stage for a bit of fun in front of some of his friends, only to be told after the performance that he was “through to the quarter-finals”.

“Straight away I thought ‘It’s competitive here’, so I wanted to try and win this karaoke competition,” he recalls.

He sought out Joanna Farrell – a local in the area who once fronted the band Joanna & Tequila Sunrise – for singing lessons.

Laurence, an Elvis superfan, reached the final of the karaoke competition, only to come up just short of winning.

But his performances led to charity gigs, before Joanna offered him a spot as Elvis on a show she was headlining.

He said: “They [Joanna and her husband] did their start and then I came out and did my Elvis. And it went down fantastic, really, really well.

“Since then, from time to time friends have asked me to do parties or weddings or whatever.

“I did it on Saturday night because some of the guys from my cycling club had seen it a few years ago, but I hadn’t done it in a couple of years so some had never seen it.

“It’s such a laugh. It’s good fun. I have a suit and it keeps me fit there. I have to stay in shape to fit into it.”

‘I still miss cycling’

Laurence’s favourite Elvis track is “Suspicious Minds” – a song he now impresses crowds with as part of his own set.

He said: “I do a great version of Suspicious Minds. It’s a live version but it’s quite fast and there’s a good backing track for it. It always goes down really well.”

Yet despite his many ventures since retiring from cycling, he admits he has never truly replaced the buzz of racing.

He explained: “I still miss the feeling of going up those mountains. I don’t think it’ll ever go away.

“The feeling you have when you’re competing at that level – no matter if you’re winning or coming last – it’s amazing.

“It’s what you’ve always wanted to do – ride the Tour de France.”

Meanwhile, two of Laurence’s nephews – Dan Martin and Nicholas Roche – paved their own ways in cycling and are now also retired.

Martin, 37, won two stages of the Tour de France, the Tour of Lombardy and Liege-Bastogne-Liege between 2013 and 2018.

Nicholas, 39, rode the Tour de France 11 times and won two stages of the Vuelta Espana.