Late brother inspires Rojas in Tour de France

CHATEAUROUX, France, July 8 (Reuters) - Jose Joaquin Rojas always has a picture in his mind when he sprints towards the finish line in the Tour de France—the face of his late brother Mariano, killed in a car crash 15 years ago.

The Spanish Movistar rider has played a leading role in the bunch sprints since the Tour’s start a week ago and considers himself as “well-placed” to challenge Briton Mark Cavendish and Belgium’s Philippe Gilbert in the points standings.
At 26, the rider from Murcia has improved dramatically this season and even outsprinted three-time Tour winner Alberto Contador for victory in the Spanish championship before the Tour got underway.
That win came almost 15 years to the day of his brother’s death aged 23.
Mariano was seen at the time as one of his country’s best all-rounders and potential successor to five-times Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain.
“I’m completely different from my brother. He was a climber and a time trial specialist whereas I’m more of a fast rider, more of a sprinter. We each have our personalities and styles,” Rojas told Reuters in an interview.
“Yet I want to continue along the road my brother was forced to leave abruptly,” he added.
In 1995, Mariano Rojas was one of the Tour de France sensations. He followed the best in the mountains, led the young rider classification before being forced out after a crash in the Tourmalet mountain pass.
He was in the ONCE team line-up for the 1996 Tour when tragedy struck.
“It’s an extra motivation for me to try and earn victories in the Tour,” said Rojas, who was only 11 when his brother died.
“I was very young, but I was aware of who my brother was and what he stood for.”
Rojas has finished in the top five places four times since the start of the Tour and feels he is close to a stage win that always eluded his brother. The points classification green jersey is also within reach.
“At the start of the Tour, I thought it was a remote goal but after a week, it’s a fact, I’m well placed in the points standings,” said the sprinter, who held the green jersey for two days before losing it to Gilbert.
Unlike most sprinters, the Movistar team leader does not lose considerable time in the mountains.
“I’m alright in medium mountains, which could help me snatch points in the hard stages. But while I climb well, Cavendish is simply the fastest,” he said.
As a sprinter at ease when the road goes up, Rojas has a similar profile to his idol, former French rider Laurent Jalabert, who won the green jersey in 1992 and 1995 and the King of the Mountains classification in 2001 and 2002.
“I always was a fan of Jalabert. I loved the way he raced and he was my brother’s room-mate. But he won so many races that I can’t compare with him. I would be glad to win just half as many,” he said.