Nationality: Australian
Date of birth: May 28, 1990
Height: 182cm
Weight: 71kg
Team: BMC Racing

Former Hour Record holder Rohan Dennis has built up a reputation as a formidable time trial specialist, but he can climb when called upon and proved at the 2017 Tour of the Alps that he’s got a sprint in him too.

Dennis won the second stage there, also claiming 2nd on GC at the Tirreno–Adriatico – standing him in good stead ahead of the 2017 Giro d’Italia. 

Listing Bradley Wiggins as one of his inspirations, Dennis says the 2012 Tour de France winner has shown him that a rider with track and time trial talents can perform in stage races too.

In an initial bid to attempt a similar transformation, Dennis rode this year’s Giro d’Italia in a free role but an unfortunate crash in the third stage of the race saw his title hopes all but die, leaving him in a five minute deficit. He eventually decided to abandon during stage four, leaving the team to focus on GC contender Tejay van Garderen.

After a strong start to his cycling career in his native Australia with national under-23 road race and time trial titles and a silver medal in the 2012 Olympic Games team pursuit, Dennis moved up to the professional ranks in 2013 with the Garmin-Sharp team.

Dennis took the overall win in the Tour of Alberta that year, but more impressive was his eighth place overall in the Criterium du Dauphine and the best young rider’s jersey.

In 2014, Dennis took a stage win en route to placing second overall in the Tour of California behind Bradley Wiggins, and a silver in the Commonwealth Games time trial. A rare mid-season team switch to BMC Racing took place in August.

Dennis stepped up a level in 2015, beginning the season with overall victory in the Tour Down Under, his first WorldTour win before breaking the Hour Record on February 8 – a mark subsequently beaten by Alex Dowsett and Bradley Wiggins. He then claimed the yellow jersey at the Tour de France by winning the opening time trial in Utrecht.

The start to 2016 was a little stunted, and Dennis had to pull out of both Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya due to illness. He did secure first place in the Australian National time trial (a feat he repeated in the early 2017 Australian Nationals) and came 5th in the Olympic time trial in Rio, despite injuring his hand in a training crash ahead of the event.

Major results: Tour Down Under 2015 | Tour of Alberta 2013