Rohan Dennis has received a two-year suspended sentence for his role in a car incident that resulted in the death of his wife, former Olympian and track world champion Melissa Hoskins.

The 34-year-old Australian, who retired from pro cycling at the end of 2023, pleaded guilty during the court case to an aggravated charge of causing likelihood of harm. Hoskins died in December 2023, when, following an argument between the couple, she was struck by a car driven by Dennis outside the couple’s home in Adelaide.

Dennis was initially charged with causing death by dangerous driving, and faced a potential sentence of up to 15 years in prison, but he pleaded not guilty.

A judge has now said he was not criminally responsible for his wife’s death.

“To describe the consequences of the events on 30 December 2023 as tragic really does not do justice to the grief, the anguish and the turmoil those events have brought into the lives of those who knew and loved your wife,” judge Ian Press said.

The court was told that Dennis tried to drive away to “de-escalate the argument”, which had been over kitchen renovations. The judge said it was Dennis’s “obligation” to stop the vehicle when it became dangerous to Hoskins.

“That you did not stop because you wanted to leave is a very poor reason for not doing so,” the judge said.

The two-time world time trial champion’s suspended sentence means he will not go to prison if no further offences are committed, and that he can continue to look after his and Hoskins’ two children, who are four and six years old. He also received a five-year ban from driving.

After the sentencing, Hoskins’ parents spoke outside the court, saying they hoped to have a “well-mannered relationship” with Dennis, “as hard as it’s going to be”.

“It is now time for us to move on, which would be Melissa’s expectations of us,” they said. “Clearly we want to continue to be an integral part of their children’s lives and their future.”

Hoskins won the team pursuit world title in 2015 as part of the Australian track squad. She competed in the same discipline at the Olympics in 2012 and 2016, and retired from competition at the end of 2017. She and Dennis married in 2018, and had their first child later that year.

Dennis, who rode for teams including Jumbo-Visma, Ineos Grenadiers and BMC during his career, did not comment on the sentencing.

Australian cyclist Melissa Hoskins was remembered as a “champion mum” as well as an outstanding Olympic cyclist at her funeral in her hometown of Perth, Australia on Wednesday. 

The 32-year-old was killed after she was struck by a car on December 30 in Adelaide. Her husband and former pro, Rohan Dennis, was allegedly behind the wheel. He has since been charged with causing death by dangerous driving. 

Dennis is currently on bail and will appear at Adelaide Magistrates Court on 13 March. He attended the funeral along with the couple’s two young children. 

As reported by ABC, Hoskins’ father, Peter, read an emotional tribute to his daughter at the service. 

"Melissa's zest for living touched so many people," he said. "We're celebrating a life today that was cut way too short. Melissa was just warming up. Her best performances were yet to come."

Hoskins represented her country at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic games. She also won gold in the women’s team pursuit at the 2015 World Championships. She then retired in 2017 and soon after started a family with Dennis. 

"When Melissa retired, she reset her goals," her father added. "It's time to become a champion mum… Mel was the rock for her family."

Mourners heard that Hoskins enjoyed music, dancing, cooking and drinking gin and tonics. 

Hoskins’ former coach, Gary Sutton, also spoke at the service calling it his “privilege” to work with her. 

"She's one of the best team players I've ever had the privilege to work with," he said. "Always putting the needs and best interests of the team first before her own.”

Further tributes recently poured in for Hoskins from across the Australian cycling community. 

Former teammate Annette Edmondson wrote an emotional tribute to Hoskins on Instagram calling her “a force of nature”. 

“[She was] a fun, loving, hilarious person, who was so talented in so many areas,” Edmondson added. “She took the track and road cycling world by storm, before pursuing her next dream, starting a family and becoming the ultimate mum.” 

Meanwhile AusCycling CEO Marne Fechner described Hoskins as an “athlete of rare prowess”, who “thrilled and inspired” with her riding. 

Rohan Dennis has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving after his wife, two-time Olympian Melissa Hoskins, was killed in a crash in Adelaide, Australia, on Saturday.

South Australia Police said that Hoskins was hit by a car on Saturday evening in north Adelaide. She suffered serious injuries, was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, but died overnight. 

The 32-year-old competed in the team pursuit at two Olympics for Australia, winning gold in the same event at the 2015 World Championships. She also competed on the road for Orica-AIS, winning the Tour of Chongming Island in 2012.

Dennis, the two-time time trial world champion, was arrested and charged with causing death by dangerous driving, driving without due care and endangering life. He was bailed to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on 13 March.

While neither have been named officially by SA Police, multiple Australian media outlets, including the national broadcaster ABC, reported that Hoskins had been killed, and that Dennis had been arrested. The pair had two children together.

The couple were previously listed on the Santos Tour Down Under's website as leaders a family ride event at the 2024 cycling season's curtain-raiser event, but those details are no longer online.

Hoskins and Dennis married in 2018, and a recent Instagram post showed the family together for Christmas.

Hoskins turned professional in 2012, riding on the road until 2015, but retired from cycling in 2017. In 2015, she won the mountains classification at the Women's Tour in the UK. At the Rio Olympics in 2016, she was involved in a high-speed crash while training for the event, which saw her hospitalised, but not seriously injured. She won five medals at various track World Championships, and finished on the podium three times in the team time trial at the road World Championships.

In a statement on social media on Sunday afternoon, her former team, now Jayco AlUla, said: "We are devastated to learn of the passing of former GreenEDGE Cycling rider Melissa Dennis nee Hoskins. Our thoughts are with her family and friends and the whole cycling community at this deeply saddening time. She will never be forgotten. RIP Mel."

Dennis retired from cycling at the end of 2023 after a career which saw him win stages at the Vuelta a España, Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France. He built his success on time trialling, which saw him become world champion in 2018 and 2019, but in the latter stages of his career the Australian became a super-domestique, at Ineos Grenadiers, and then Jumbo-Visma.

England's Dan Bigham is looking to bounce back from a disappointing track campaign at the Commonwealth Games when he takes on the time trial on Thursday. 

Bigham will be earmarked as one of the favourites to take home gold. In October 2021, Bigham broke the British national hour record when he rode 54.723 kilometres to beat the distance previously set by Bradley Wiggins. 

He also finished second to Ethan Hayter at the National Championships time trial in June. 

Bigham told Cycling Weekly that the technical course suits him: “I would say my strengths are definitely in courses that are varying and technical, which is exactly what this is. 

"You’ve got descents, corners, sketchy roundabouts, all manner of everything, and lots of it. There are some big climbs too, which will be significant. You’ll need a lot of power, whichever way you look at it.

"I’m not Rohan Dennis or Geraint Thomas, I’m not going to be doing silly numbers, but I’m looking forward to it.”   

The 30-year-old admitted that his track performance earlier in the week wasn’t what he had hoped. Bigham said that after two days off, he’s ready and prepared to put in a performance, he added “the last 36 hours I’ve re-focussed on the TT and I’m feeling confident about it. It’s not going to be easy, that’s for sure but I’m ready. There’s going to be a lot of pain and suffering with how variable the course is, but I’m confident I’ll recover and am looking forward to it.” 

KEY ROUTE INFORMATION

Riders will begin their hunt for a medal in West Park, Wolverhampton before then heading out on a loop around the city before reaching the finish in the park. The women will tackle a 29km route whereas the men’s is slightly longer at 37 kilometres. 

As they travel round the loop, the men and women will head past Dudley’s historic castle before coming back to West Park. The park, which opened in 1881, is widely considered as being one of the finest examples of unspoilt Victorian parkland in England. Within the grounds of the park, you’ll find a Grade II listed bandstand, conservatory, tennis courts, bowling greens and a lake. 

EXPECTED TIMINGS (ALL TIMES IN BST)

Women

Start time: 10:01 

Finish time: 10:55

Men

Wave one start: 12:01

Wave one finish: 13:04

Wave two start: 14:01

Wave two finish: 15:04

RIDERS TO WATCH

Rohan Dennis of Australia and Wales’ Geraint Thomas will go into the race as the two out and out favourites for the gold medal in the men’s race. Both riders will be expected to go well on the 37km course and finish in the podium positions. 

Other riders who will be looking to spring a surprise will be Dan Bigham, Aaron Gate of New Zealand and Scotland’s John Archibald.

Gate comes into the time trial in a rich vein of form after already turning in several impressive performances on the track over the weekend. The rider from New Zealand has already won three gold medals in the points race, team pursuit and individual pursuit. Another outsider who could well be in contention is Australia’s Luke Plapp. 

In the women’s race, Australia will be the strong favourites for the medals particularly through Grace Brown and Georgia Baker. Baker proved herself to be in good time trial form in the Giro Donne, where she was second in the prologue. 

Joss Lowden of England will be looking to challenge for the home nations as well as Anna Shackley of  Scotland. Shackley is known as a climber but was fifth at the time trial National Championship in June.

Rohan Dennis has said that he moved to Jumbo-Visma from Ineos Grenadiers because his former team were “copying Jumbo with a lot of stuff”.

The time-trialist, who was speaking via a video message to the Jumbo-Visma team presentation on Tuesday, said that his new squad was technically better.

"There's a lot of things that the team is doing really well." Dennis said. "I noticed when I was with Ineos that they were copying Jumbo with a lot of stuff. And I thought: Well, why would I want to be in a team that is copying a team on the other side of the fence?

"Why not go join that team and be on the front foot, not the back foot. So basically I want to move here because technically it is a better team. It looks like a great structure.”

>>> Grace Brown and Rohan Dennis win Australian time trial titles

The double world time-trial champion has signed a two-year contract with the Dutch super team after spending a couple of years with Ineos, during which time he won two WorldTour time trials and acted as a super-domestique. He notably helped Tao Geoghegan Hart to Giro d’Italia victory in 2020.

He explained that he was looking forward to being at the “leading” team in the world, but that it would also be a bit like coming home.

"I'm also coming back to semi-where I started, back when I was with Rabobank in 2011,” Dennis said. 

“It's slightly different, that was a Conti team, so a lot different. But I think it's a nice move and I'm really excited about it. In the sport, there's usually one or two teams that are really pushing to find the one or half a per cent and at the moment the team leading that is Jumbo.”

He will be a part of Jumbo-Visma’s Tour de France squad along with Primož Roglič, Jonas Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss, Steven Kruijswijk and Wout van Aert.

He has been described as "dream asset” by team director Merijn Zeeman, and looks to step into the role left by the retiring Tony Martin, but can also offer so much more.

On this description, Dennis said that he was ready to keep performing and aims to be one of the best riders in the world.

"There's a bit of pressure when you get a label. It's not pressure I don't like, it makes me realise my importance in the team," he explained.

"It's not just coming here and having fun. You're here to do a job, you're here to keep performing and that's what I like to do. It's one of those things that I've worked my whole professional career and even before, to get to this point. It's always been a goal to be one of the best riders in the world.”

He has not raced the Tour de France since 2019, when he left partway through while riding for Bahrain-Merida, but appeared motivated to do well on the biggest stage again.

The South Australian has won time trials at both the Giro and the Vuelta a España, so the Tour is the only gap in his palmáres.

"The big goal for me in the team is to do the Tour de France," he said directly. "It's a huge race, it is a circus and I really want to be part of a team that is potentially going to win.

"I'll try and help the team beat old mate Tadej [Pogačar]. I like him but he is the enemy."

On Wednesday, Dennis secured his first victory in Jumbo-Visma colours as he won the Australian national time trial championships for the fourth time.

Grace Brown and Rohan Dennis took the women's and men's Australian national time trial titles in comprehensive fashion on Wednesday, both racing in their new trade team kits for the first time.

Brown (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) posted a time of 41:28.68 over the 28.6km course in Ballarat, Victoria. This meant she won by 1:01 over her nearest competitor, Amber Pate (InForm TMX MAKE); it is the second time she pulled on the Australian bands. Lisa Jacob came third.

Dennis (Jumbo-Visma) meanwhile, finished in 45:33.58 over 37.5km, beating Luke Durbridge (Team BikeExchange Jayco) by 1:13. Conor Leahy of InForm TMX MAKE completed the podium

Dennis and Durbridge now share four titles between them in an event they have dominated since 2012, only being interrupted on three occasions by Richie Porte, Michael Hepburn and Luke Plapp.

Neither defending champion, Sarah Gigante or Plapp, took to the startline, but Brown and Dennis both proved their skill and form ahead of a season which sees new starts for both.

Speaking after his victory, Dennis paid tribute to his new team. "They put a lot of faith in me," he said. "To come in and show respect to that and put all my effort in – not that I haven’t every other year – but to really knuckle down on every little detail to perform for them straight away was really important.” 

The South Australian last won the title in 2018 in BMC colours, before his move to Bahrain-Merida which ended abruptly after just nine months. He then joined Ineos Grenadiers, where he won two WorldTour time trials and helped Tao Geoghegan Hart to victory at the Giro d'Italia in 2020.

However, after two years with the British squad, he joined Jumbo-Visma. When his transfer was announced he said that the chance to ride with the likes of Primož Roglič, Tom Dumoulin and Wout van Aert was "something I couldn’t refuse".

Brown has also moved teams for 2022, joining FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope from BikeExchange, a move away from the Australian set up.

The rouleur, who was fourth at the Olympic Games time trial last year, has also looked promising in one-day races, something her new team sees potential in.

"I really wanted to get this for FDJ so it's nice to have that done now,"  Brown said after the race. "It was a pretty hard race actually, it didn't come easy, but I'm proud of the effort and happy to have the jersey for the year."

Anya Louw won the women's U23 time trial title, while Carter Turnbull won the men's equivalent.

The men and women's elite road races both fall on Sunday, with riders tackling a circuit around Buninyong, which includes the Mount Buninyong climb each lap.

Jumbo-Visma have confirmed the signing of Rohan Dennis from Ineos Grenadiers for 2022, securing the Australian's services on a two-year contract.

Dennis, 31, joins Jumbo-Visma after two years with Ineos, having signed up with the British squad following an acrimonious split with his Bahrain-Merida team.

The two-time world time trial champion will leave one squad stacked with superstars to join another, riding alongside a fellow former world champion Tom Dumoulin, Belgian star Wout van Aert, and two-time Grand Tour winner Primož Roglič from next year.

>>> WorldTour transfers 2022: All of the men's and women's new signings for the 2022 season

“I’m looking forward to the new challenges and I’m excited to be joining arguably one of the leading teams with R&D in the pro peloton," Dennis said on his transfer.

"Riding alongside the likes of Primož Roglič, Wout van Aert and Tom Dumoulin - again - is something I couldn’t refuse. Continuing to contribute to major Grand Tour wins with the team and taking some of my own chances at week-long tours is a major goal of mine. 

"It’s a new chapter, but also a return to a part of my early years, being involved with the Rabobank continental team back in 2011. And also being back on Cervélo, the bike I rode as a neo-pro back in 2013. I would like to thank Ineos Grenadiers for the time I spent with them. It has been a great ride with a lot of amazing times and achievements, which I’m looking to continue at Team Jumbo-Visma.”

Since joining Ineos Grenadiers in 2020 Dennis has secured two wins, both time trials, including stage two of the Volta a Catalunya 2021 and the Prologue of the Tour de Romandie 2021. He also proved pivotal in delivering the team's victory at the Giro d'Italia in 2020, guiding eventual overall winner Tao Geoghegan Hart through the toughest mountain stages with some powerful displays.

Dennis finished third in this year's Tokyo Olympic Games time trial after missing out on selection for the Tour de France, taking bronze behind his future Jumbo-Visma team-mates Primož Roglič and Tom Dumoulin.

Jumbo-Visma sports director Merijn Zeeman said the Dutch squad will relish Dennis' abilities as a domestique in the Grand Tours, but will also allow him to chase potential victories himself. Dennis has taken stage victories in all three Grand Tours, but switched his focus to shorter stage races after a stint with BMC Racing in which he attempted to become an overall contender in three-week races.

“I have been talking to him for a few years now," Zeeman said. 

"He is a dream asset for me, who will be a great support for our GC riders in particular, but who will also regularly be in a position to chase an overall victory himself”

“There are not many riders in the peloton who have his qualities. He is a real asset, which is very important in today’s top cycling. He is someone with a very big engine who can pull for kilometres and who can reduce the peloton uphill too. He also is capable of a great time trial in which he will often compete for the win.”

Dennis will next compete as part of a six-man Ineos squad at the Tour of Britain, which runs from Sunday, September 5 to Sunday, September 12.

We have entered the period of the year where teams can now announce who they have signed for the 2022 season, with some very big names expected to be on the move.

Some riders will be leaving teams that they have been at for multiple seasons, others will be leaving after a relatively short stint and on potentially bad terms with the team.

Every year we see some surprising moves, but with many big name riders usually tied down to huge contracts - the likes of Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) being held onto for many years by their teams.

>>> Tokyo Olympics track round-up: Records smashed in both team pursuits despite shock crash, and cycling gold for China

However, this transfer season looks set for some of the sports biggest names moving around the peloton for the 2022 season. Here are just five of the biggest rumours...

Sam Bennett - Deceuninck - Quick-Step to Bora-Hansgrohe

The Irish star Sam Bennett is now known to definitely be leaving Deceuninck - Quick-Step with the Belgian team owner Patrick Lefevere stating that he will be re-joining Bora-Hansgrohe, even though Bennett and the German team parted ways badly two years ago.

Bennett had an amazing first season with Deceuninck - Quick-Step last year, with the 2021 season going in much the same way. But then the rumour mill started going quite early with the news that he would be going back to his old team of Bora-Hansgrohe.

This, along with a very unfortunately timed injury putting him out of the Tour de France squad, saw the relationship between him and Lefevere turn sour. Lefevere has since accused Bennett of being the "epitome of mental weakness" in a recent column for Het Nieuwsblad.

Bennett was at Bora-Hansgrohe for six years and was the star man for the first three but once Peter Sagan signed he was pushed back a little bit. Pascal Ackermann joining the fold didn't help either as the Irishman would be forced into one of either the Giro d'Italia or the Vuelta a España. 

However, this is likely not going to be an issue in 2022 as those two riders are set to leave the German outfit.

Peter Sagan - Bora-Hansgrohe to TotalEnergies

Peter Sagan has been the rockstar of cycling since he burst onto the big stage back in 2011 with some amazing victories at the age of just 21 and it is certain that the Slovakian star will be moving on to his fifth team in his career.

After a very successful five-year spell with Bora-Hansgrohe, Sagan has decided that he fancies a new challenge. The team looks to be splitting with the rider on very good terms as they look to go in a slightly different direction with more focus on the general classification, while backing one star sprinter instead of multiple.

Originally, the big rumour was that Sagan would be heading to Deceuninck - Quick-Step as a straight swap with Sam Bennett but Lefevere waded in on this and said while he would love to sign Sagan, as would the team sponsors, they simply do not have the money to sign him and his entourage that costs around €8million.

One team that seems to be able to afford this thanks to their big-name sponsor is French UCI ProTeam, Team TotalEnergies. The energy giants are looking to pump more money into the team and maybe get to the UCI WorldTour next season and signing Sagan would be a big bonus for that.

Geraint Thomas - Ineos Grenadiers to unknown

It's been an especially hard season for Geraint Thomas as the 2018 Tour de France winner has just not been able to find any luck in two of his biggest objectives of the 2021 season.

Crashing on stage three of the Tour de France saw his hopes of the overall classification go up in smoke as he dislocated his shoulder, slowly slipping down the order before supporting team-mate Richard Carapaz to third overall.

He then headed to Japan for the road race and time trial in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games but, much like in the Rio 2016 Games, he suffered bad luck through a crash that saw him lose touch on the climbs before DNFing. He then put in a solid 12th in the time trial before likely ending his 2021 season.

The rumours of him potentially moving on come due to his contract coming to an end and the potential for a new challenge. The Welshman has been with the British team of Ineos Grenadiers for 11 years but there is a possibility that he will be in different colours for the 2022 season, in a surprising move to match the one by Chris Froome when he left to join Israel Start-Up Nation for this season.

There are no teams rumoured to be his next destination as of yet, but with the transfer window officially open, time will tell what Thomas will decide.

Rohan Dennis - Ineos Grenadiers to Jumbo-Visma

Recent bronze medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in the individual time trial, Rohan Dennis has shown that he still definitely has great legs on the bike even though he has not been given a chance at the first two Grand Tours of the year by Ineos Grenadiers.

Dennis, who has been with the British team for two years, is set to be joining the Dutch squad of Jumbo-Visma, joining the gold and silver medalist in the Olympic time trial in Primož Roglič and Tom Dumoulin as well as Belgian star Wout van Aert in what will be one of the strongest mountain trains in the pro peloton.

The Australian time trial specialist has just got two wins to his name at Ineos with them both coming in 2021 and against the clock, but his work for the team's leaders has been his most important asset.

His biggest role with the team was when he dragged Tao Geoghegan Hart up the Stelvio in last year's Giro with only Jai Hindley (DSM) able to follow, laying the way for the British rider to go into pink and win the race a few days later.

Elia Viviani - Cofidis to EOLO-Kometa

Elia Viviani was a surprise signing for Cofidis as he joined the French WorldTour squad from Deceuninck - Quick-Step after a very successful two-year period.

Since joining Cofidis in 2020, however, he has taken just three wins with only one of them actually in the colours of Cofidis. The other two were riding for the Italian national team in the Adriatica Ionica Race.

The rumours started coming in that Viviani would likely be joining Italian ProTeam EOLO-Kometa for the 2022 season alongside his brother, Attilio. EOLO-Kometa, owned by former pros Alberto Contador and Ivan Basso, are hoping to sign some of Italy's biggest names in the future so they can try to get into the WorldTour and Viviani could be one of those names.

He does need to find form from somewhere though. He will hope that he can ride the wave of being the flag bearer in the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games for Italy and maybe retain his Madison gold medal to get his form going again.

Annemiek van Vleuten delivers despite the pressure

There has been a lot of pressure riding on Annemiek van Vleuten’s shoulders heading into the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

The Dutchwoman consistently dominates in the regular cycling season, but the Olympic medal has eluded Van Vleuten, who suffered an awful crash while leading the road race in Rio.

Van Vleuten came into the Tokyo games with some serious focus, having decided not to race since May to avoid any risk of crashes or injuries, even missing one of the biggest stage races of the year, the Giro Donne.

With that singular motivation, the pressure on Van Vleuten was already mounting, but was only compounded as the Netherlands began to suffer some seriously bad luck as the games got underway.

There is always the feeling that Van Vleuten often mounts huge expectations of herself on her shoulders, while often carrying Dutch hopes into any major international event. 

While Van Vleuten may not have been the over-riding favourite (that honour went to Chloe Dygert of the USA), she was able to overcome all the pressure in the 22km women’s time trial on Wednesday (July 28), beating the field by almost a minute. 

It was a huge result for Van Vleuten and very nearly completes her already staggering palmarès, adding a hard-earned gold to her silver from the road race.  

Primož Roglič back on top after a tough Tour 

Slovenia’s Primož Roglič is always among the favourites heading into a time trial, but the balance tips even further in his favour on a punchy climbing course like the one in Tokyo. 

The 31-year-old’s strongest TT performances generally fall in the midst of a Grand Tour tilt, where he has routinely put time into his rivals, but he has never delivered in the biggest standalone solo tests (he was 12th in the Yorkshire World Championships in 2019). 

After crashing on stage three of the Tour de France and eventually abandoning the race, along with his dreams of the yellow jersey, Roglič’s form was unknown heading into this race, particularly after only finishing 28th in the Olympic road race last weekend. 

But it very quickly became clear that Roglič had some superior legs in the TT, setting the fastest time at the first timing check.

After the first of the two 22km laps, Roglič was still quickest but with only 10 seconds separating the top-five. 

It was then that Roglič turned on the real power, extending his lead to more than a minute by the finish.

Despite the close battles out on the road, Roglič had actually dominated the race in the second lap, adding Olympic gold to his ever-growing list of achievements, which includes two Vuelta a España titles and second place in the Tour de France.  

Roglič isn't currently scheduled to race the Vuelta this year, but if his TT form is anything to go by, we could see him put up a formidable defence again.  

Just don’t call him a ski-jumper. 

The pre-race favourites fall short 

Time trials often split opinion in the cycling world, as many fans consider the discipline a bit boring.  

Some of the reason for that is the dominance often on display in time trials. It’s routinely the case that one in-form rider enjoy a spell of top results, making TTs a fairly predictable affair.

But that was not the case in the Olympics, as the clear pre-race favourites did not deliver.

In the women’s race, favourite status was split between Chloe Dygert (USA) and reigning world champion Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands). 

While Dygert has been fairly anonymous in the regular season during the last two years, her stand-out performance in the 2019 World Championships in Yorkshire is hard to forget, making her a contender in any TT she enters. She had also been on course to smash the 2020 Worlds in Imola before a shocking crash took her out of the race. 

But it wasn’t to be for the 24-year-old in the Olympics, as she finished in seventh place, 2-16 behind Van Vleuten.  

Van der Breggen, who claimed the rainbow bands in the TT in Imola last year, has once again been in form against the clock in 2021, winning the Dutch National Championships TT and the Giro Donne time trial on her way to overall victory.

But Olympic gold was not within reach for the Dutchwoman on Wednesday, as she finished 1-02 behind Van Vleuten. 

In the men’s race, the big favourites were world champion Filippo Ganna (Italy) and Belgium’s Wout van Aert after his Tour de France time trial win on stage 20.

But the undulating course took the advantage away from the two powerhouse riders, instead playing into the hands of general classification rider Roglič. 

It was the nature of the course that really gave us some thrilling racing around the Fuji International Speedway, as heavier riders were forced to try and chase down the climbers on the descents. 

While it can’t be denied that some TTs are in fact boring, the Olympic TTs were not in that category. 

Tom Dumoulin and Rohan Dennis in the medals 

Earlier this year Tom Dumoulin made the shock announcement that he would be taking a step back from cycling for an indefinite period.

The Dutch superstar said he needed to decide if he still loved riding his bike as a professional, sparking suspicions that he might leave the peloton for good.

But after taking time away from his Jumbo-Visma team, Dumoulin decided he missed the sport that he had flourished in and decided to return, making the Olympic TT his major target.

With mental health and athlete wellbeing becoming an increasingly prevalent issue in sports (gymnast Simone Biles recently highlighting the topic in Tokyo), Dumoulin's silver medal sends an important message to the world - sport isn't everything. 

After looking after his own mind first, Dumoulin appears to have returned to the top of his game with a new-found motivation, which can only boost his performances in the long-run. 

Rohan Dennis has consistently been one of the best time triallists in the world, but his results haven’t always reflected his ability. 

It was 2018 when the Aussie finally delivered the big result he’d been waiting for, as he won the World Championships TT in Austria.

The following year Dennis was able to follow up with another Worlds win in Yorkshire, amidst team drama and a serious lack of racing throughout 2019.

Since then Dennis has been forced to chase down his Ineos Grenadiers team-mate Filippo Ganna, who now wears the crown as the inevitable pre-race favourite in any time trial.

>>> What does it take to be a time trial world champion? We asked Rohan Dennis’s coach to find out

Dennis had been a serious contender to medal during the 2016 Olympics in Rio, riding himself into contention for bronze before his handlebars snapped, slipping back to fifth place.

Meanwhile his result in the 2020 Worlds in Imola, where he finished fifth, doesn’t tell the full story, as Dennis went deep earlier in the course in the hopes of matching Filippo Ganna, putting everything into the win, but eventually suffering in the latter part of the course.

Dennis’s bronze medal in Tokyo will be both relief and encouragement, the result of five years of work and battling through a turbulent few years.  

Dutch overcome the Tokyo curse 

As a nation the Dutch tend to put other countries in the shade when it comes to cycling. 

Over the years, the Netherlands have dominated in road races (thanks to Marianne Vos, Annemiek van Vleuten, and Anna van der Breggen), in time trials (Tom Dumoulin), cyclocross (Mathieu van der Poel), and on the track. 

But in Tokyo it seemed like fate had a score to settle with the Dutch, as incident piled on top of incident. 

First the Dutch women’s team missed out on gold in the road race last weekend, after a miscommunication meant Van Vleuten didn’t realise there was a lone leader up the road, celebrating as she crossed the line only to learn she had taken silver behind Austria’s Anna Kiesenhofer.

Then Mathieu van der Poel crashed out of the mountain bike event, not realising a ramp on the course would be removed for the actual race. These were followed by incidents for Anna van der Breggen on the eve of the time trial and one of the Dutch BMX squad, when an official wandered onto the track and took out their rider during practice. 

Despite all the chaos around the team, Van Vleuten had taken a consolation prize with her silver medal in the road race, albeit tainted by the disappointment of missing the gold due to an unusual team error. 

But suddenly the Dutch are back to their best after the time trials, scoring three medals across the two races.

Van Vleuten claimed the first cycling gold for the nation, while Van der Breggen added to the medal tally with her bronze.

>>> Geraint Thomas says he 'just needs to stay positive and try to keep going' after Olympic time trial

Dutch cycling fans will also be delighted to see poster boy Tom Dumoulin back on the podium, securing silver in the men’s event after his indefinite break from cycling earlier this year. 

Thanks to their TTs performances, the Netherlands now jumps into second place in the Cycling Weekly medals table, just one medal behind current leaders Switzerland.

The Tokyo curse appears to be broken.  

Reports from the Netherlands suggest that Jumbo-Visma are about to sign Rohan Dennis from their rivals Ineos Grenadiers.

The Australian is in his final year of a two-year contract with Ineos Grenadiers but has been open to moving elsewhere for the 2022 season and beyond. 

He was linked with UAE-Team Emirates, but Dutch newspaper Wielerflits is reporting that the 31-year-old will join his current team’s arch rivals.

Given Dennis’ time trial prowess and his strength at riding in the mountains as a key domestique, were the deal to be confirmed it would represent a major coup for Jumbo-Visma and a blow to Ineos who were thought to be keen to extend his contract.

Dennis was time trial world champion in 2018 and 2019 but has fallen behind his current team-mate Filippo Ganna in the discipline, although Dennis has won two time trials in 2021, including ending an 18-month winning drought at the Volta a Catalunya. 

He played a significant role in the final week of the 2020 Giro d’Italia when he shepherded eventual winner Tao Geoghegan Hart through the Dolomites and effectively blew away the rest of the field with his incessant pace.

It is that type of performance that Jumbo-Visma would have been interested in, looking to strengthen their already star-studded GC team.

With Tony Martin aged 36 and Robert Gesink just a year younger, the Dutch outfit are looking to refresh the team that rides in support of Primoż Roglič and their other GC riders. 

Dennis turned 31 at the end of May so still has a number of years ahead of him at the top of the sport.

A move to Jumbo-Visma would be the third time he has changed teams since 2019, when he joined Bahrain-Merida from BMC Racing but dramatically left the team midway through the season due to a series of disputes.

He eventually signed for British team Ineos Grenadiers, and his departure will be seen as a disappointment by the outfit’s hierarchy.

Richie Porte has been confirmed as the leader of the Australian men’s team at the Tokyo Olympics, with Amanda Spratt and Rohan Dennis also headlining the team. 

Porte, podium finisher in the 2020 Tour de France, will headline the men’s squad for the Olympic road race, while one-day specialist Amanda Spratt will lead the women’s team.

Time trial star Rohan Dennis (Ineos Grenadiers) will also ride in both the road race and will compete for TT gold in Tokyo. 

But with the coronavirus pandemic still raging in Japan, fears are growing that the event could be cancelled after initially being delayed last year. 

Porte, who has returned to Ineos Grenadiers this season, told The Guardian: “We can aim to be up there for the podium ... It would be a dream for anyone to medal at the Olympics. Obviously that’s the big goal but I think it’s just going to be an absolute miracle that these games are going to go ahead.”

The Tokyo Olympics are still scheduled to run from July 23 to August 8, but there is growing uncertainty about the delayed event. 

A recent poll found that more than 80 per cent of Japanese people oppose hosting the games taking place this year, while the Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association has called for the event to be cancelled, saying hospitals are already overwhelmed with coronavirus cases.  

Porte will be hoping for redemption if the Olympics go ahead, after going into the 2016 games in Rio as one of the pre-race favourites, before he crashed out with a broken shoulder.

The men’s road race will suit a climber and Grand Tour rider like Porte, as the course covers 244km of hills around Mount Fuji, with a total elevation gain of 4,865 metres. 

Spratt (Team BikeExchange) has been a major contender in one-day races in recent seasons and has now stepped up her leadership responsibilities after Annemiek van Vleuten left the team for Movistar.

The 33-year-old, a multiple podium finisher in the World Championship road race, will be surrounded by a strong team during the 147km women’s race, including her team-mate Grace Brown and rising star Sarah Gigante  (Tibco-SVB), who will also compete in the TT. 

Spratt said: “It’s such an honour to be selected for my third Olympic Games. That's been over a 10-year period, as well, it's something I've never complacent about. I'm really looking forward to being able to use what I've learned from those and really go there and performing Tokyo with a great team.”

Australian road cycling squad for Tokyo Olympics 

Women

Amanda Spratt 
Grace Brown
Tiffany Cromwell
Sarah Gigante (time trial)

Men

Richie Porte
Jack Haig
Cameron Meyer 
Rohan Dennis (time trial) 

Rohan Dennis said he’d planned to minimise the losses on the flat, before hitting the hill as hard as he could in the Tour de Romandie prologue.

Australian time trial specialist Dennis was the dominant rider in the short 4km test on the opening day of the race, as his Ineos Grenadiers team swept the podium. 

But Dennis faced a tough challenge both from power TT riders and general classification contenders, particularly his team-mates Filippo Ganna, Geraint Thomas, Richie Porte.

The prologue stage of the 2021 Tour de Romandie was a demanding course, with an out-and-back start followed by a sharp 700m climb with a six per cent average gradient.  

Speaking after his second TT victory of the year, Dennis said: "It was full gas... Then full gas even more! It was quite tricky to pace it, because there’s still a minute and a half uphill and there’s no way to get the extra speed unless you’ve got the power. That last 700-800m really hurt. 

"I thought when I hit the climb that I had gone too slow, but on the climb it didn't feel like that, the last 400m seemed to go on forever.  It was a tough little finish.

“It was a great day with first, second and third with G and Richie on the podium as well, it was perfect for us.” 

Ineos Grenadiers dominated the stage, with Dennis taking the win and the overall lead, while Geraint Thomas and Porte filled the podium spots, both nine seconds behind. 

The team are now in a strong position for the overall battle heading into the first road stage, as they will hope to follow-up on their clean sweep in the Volta a Catalunya, where Adam Yates took victory with Porte and Thomas on the podium. 

On his TT win, Dennis said: "I knew I had to go out hard to stay in contention with riders like Filippo and the power guys and then hope that I could perform on the climb a little bit better than them. My tactic was to minimise the time on the flat and hit the hill as hard as I could. I didn't lose too much time to G and Richie on the climb and I'm pretty happy with my form. 

"It's given me a lot of confidence for the final stage and shown I can do this in such a short time trial, with pure power, I think it's going to be a good week - especially after the last race when I was climbing pretty well, but plenty of work to do yet.”

>>> Geraint Thomas leads super-strong Ineos Grenadiers team at Tour de Romandie 2021 

He added: “I'd like to keep the leader's jersey for as long as possible, but let's see how it goes with the big mountains on Saturday then the final day with the TT, but I think there's plenty of work for me to do for Richie and G.”  

Rohan Dennis has spoken of his relief at ending his 18-month winning drought after victory on stage two of the Volta a Catalunya.

The Ineos Grenadiers rider completed the 18.5km course in Banyoles in a time of 22-27, five seconds faster than Rémi Cavagna of Deceuninck-Quick-Step.

It was the Australian's first win since he became time trial world champion in Yorkshire in September 2019.

>>> Michał Kwiatkowski reveals he finished in front group of Milan-San Remo while suffering with broken rib

Since then the 30-year-old has recorded five time trial podiums but never quite reached the top step, often put in the shadow by his Italian team-mate Filippo Ganna.

"It's a bit of a monkey off my back," he said after his win. "There is always that one big guy in our team called Filippo Ganna who is a tough one to beat.

"It's great but it's also a pain sometimes having him in the team for my own personal goals.

"It's great to have him not here today and I get my own free reign to have a crack and I have pulled it off.

"Hopefully this is the start of the ball rolling and I get a few more wins under my belt this year leading into July.

"Hopefully I get a start at the Tour de France and then it's Tokyo [Olympics] which has been my big personal goal for five years since Rio and hopefully we can pull that off as the final, big goal for myself for 2021."

While he insists internal competition with Ganna is healthy, he nonetheless is satisfied that he has proven his own credentials against the clock once more, a reminder to the peloton that he remains one of the best time triallists.

He added: "It is frustrating but at the same time I've had it in the past where I have been on the top step a lot and there's nothing worse than coming back to the hotel and there's even just one rider who isn't happy for you, who is obviously a rival in a time trial.

"I don't let it get between us. It's obvious there is a little bit more of an internal fight that is burning, that I want to beat him.

"That's only natural, we're all competitive, but I do not let it get between our friendship and our team. I keep that aside and I am proud and happy to be apart of the team when he wins as well."

Will he soon be considered the best tester in the world again? "Let's see what the next time trial does and then hopefully that's when I can start saying that again," he cautioned.

"I am just happy to win here, so I'm going to take it, enjoy it and we'll see. This one feels good but also it was probably one of my toughest wins."

Three of Dennis' team-mates also scored top-10s, with Richie Porte in sixth, Adam Yates in seventh and Geraint Thomas in 10th. He revealed that the undulating course was a tough outing.

"It was not easy out there - I actually thought at halfway that I was probably wasn't going to win again so when I saw on my Garmin at three kilometres to go I was in with a shot, it gave me a bit more motivation and I was all in. My confidence came back up," he continued.

"It was quite heavy with the climbing at the start and then there was a headwind along the lake and just after the hill, so there was no respite or recovery period and I was on the pedals the whole time. Basically whoever was willing to suffer the most today won."

Rohan Dennis came out on top in the stage two time trial of the Volta a Catalunya 2021 ahead of French champion Rémi Cavagna, with João Almeida taking the final podium spot on the day.

Dennis (Ineos Grenadiers) beat Cavagna (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) by five seconds but neither rider features in the overall standings, which means Cavagna's team-mate, Almeida, goes into the overall lead.

The Young rider from Portugal leads the overall by less than a second over young American, Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) and Luis León Sánchez (Astana-Premier Tech) at just three seconds down in third.

Andreas Kron (Lotto-Soudal) was unable to stay up there in the overall standings with the Danish rider finishing over two minutes down.

>>> ‘Everyone in SD Worx can and should win,’ says Demi Vollering

How it happened

The second stage of the Volta a Catalunya 2021 was an individual time trial around the town of Banyoles where the stage started and finished, with riders taking on an 18.5km undulating course.

Rémi Cavagna set the fastest time early on, riding 33 seconds faster than his team-mate, Josef Černy after putting in a time of 22-32 (48kmh)

Rohan Dennis was looking pacy on course as the live TV images started up and bettered the French champion with a 22-27 (49.4kmh). Dennis and Cavagna dropped out the high overall placing after finishing over two minutes down on stage one, meaning their efforts in the time trial wouldn't have an impact on the shape of the top-10.

Several riders who were going for the overall standings put in very good rides however, with Richie Porte (Ineos Grenadiers) looking very solid at just over 30 seconds behind Dennis in third as he crossed the line.

Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) quickly pushed Porte down the order going into third place with an impressive ride at just 29 seconds behind Dennis and Cavagna.

Simon Yates (BikeExchange), Hugh Carthy (EF Education-Nippo), Sepp Kuss and George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) all finished around a minute down on the leader, Dennis.

Simon’s brother, Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers) put in a decent effort to take fifth just 35 seconds behind Dennis.

But Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) was even stronger going in a couple of seconds ahead of Adam Yates with a very strong time trial performance by the Dutch GC rider.

Geraint Thomas was the next Ineos Grenadiers rider to come in with a time just 47 seconds down on Dennis, ahead of most of the general classification riders aside from McNulty and his two team-mates of Yates and Porte.

Almeida was the highest placed of the GC contenders in the final stage standings, taking third place ahead of McNulty, Porte, Yates, and the rest, 27 seconds down on Dennis. Almeida went into the overall lead by less than a second on McNulty, with the race heading into the mountains on stage three.

Dennis held onto the win with the top ten not changing in the final half-an-hour of the stage.

Results

Volta a Catalunya 2021, stage two: Banyoles to Banyoles (18.5km)

1. Rohan Dennis (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers, in 22-27

2. Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 5 seconds

3. João Almeida (Por) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 27s

4. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates, at 29s

5. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma, at 33s

6. Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers, at 35s

7. Adam Yates (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, at the same time

8. Josef Černy (Cze) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 38s

9. Stafen De Bod (RSA) Astana-Premier Tech, at 39s

10. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, at 47s

General classification after stage two

1. João Almeida (Por) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, in 4-43-26

2. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates, at 1 second

3. Luis León Sánchez (Esp) Astana-Premier Tech, at 3s

4. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma, 5s

5. Adam Yates (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, at 7s

6. Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers, at the same time

7. Stefan De Bod (RSA) Astana-Premier Tech, at 11s

8. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, at 19s

9. Fausto Masnada (Ita) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 21s

10. Lennard Kämna (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 22s

“Rohan is a great team player,” said Neal Henderson, the long-time coach of Australian star Rohan Dennis.  “I know not everyone has seen that, but that has been something that motivates Rohan.”

Dennis, former doubled world time trial champion, had a turbulent 2020 season after struggling with the mental strain of coronavirus, missing out on a third Worlds title, before changing the course of the Giro d’Italia. 

The Ineos Grenadiers rider had cruised through the opening 10 days of the Italian Grand Tour after his team leader and pre-race favourite Geraint Thomas crashed out of the race.

But into the final week as Tao Geoghegan Hart suddenly emerged as an unexpected contender, Dennis flicked a switch and became the decisive factor in the battle against Sunweb.

We spoke to Dennis’s coach Henderson, who is also head of sports science at Wahoo, to find out exactly how his rider fared in the 2020 season. 

World Championship defence

After the postponement of the Olympics earlier this year, Dennis’s biggest goal for 2020 was the World Championships time trial as he looked to defend his rainbow bands for a third time. 

But to take another world TT title, Dennis would need to better his team-mate and phenomenal talent Filippo Ganna. 

In the lead-up to the Imola Worlds, held in late September, Dennis had been knocked into third place on the final stage time trial of Tirreno-Adriatico, a short, flat, 10.1km course that clearly suited Ganna, with the Italian comfortably taking the victory. 

With a slightly longer 31.7km rolling course to decide the world time trial champion, the battle between Ganna and Dennis was guaranteed to be heated, but as it turned out Dennis was not able to challenge for the win, despite giving his all. 

Henderson said: “Overall, we would say it was a good ride not a great ride. Rohan honestly went in to it fighting to win.” 

Dennis fought hard in the opening 15km of the course, but despite digging deep he’d was still 20 seconds behind Ganna at the timing check and by the finish he had slipped back on his other rivals to finish 5th, 39 seconds off Ganna’s pace. 

But it was his all or nothing ride that resulted in Dennis fading in the second half of the course, Henderson said: “Coming through on that that first time check second to Ganna with a decent gap, he had cashed in a lot of chips to be to be close there and he paid the price a bit coming into the finish and for sure faded in a little bit.  His power dropped over that second portion because he went a little bit over what he would be able to sustain over the whole thing. 

“On Rohan's absolute best ever day would he have been closer? Yeah. Would he have beaten Ganna? Probably not.  

“It's hard to say that but Ganna absolutely on fire at home, great form and he carried that into the Giro.” 

But Dennis’s ride was true to form, as Henderson pointed out the 30-year-old has only appeared on the World Championship podium twice in his career, both times as winner - a streak that continues after 2020. 

Ultra-domestique at the Giro d'Italia

After the Worlds, Dennis put his own ambitions aside to work for the team at the Giro d’Italia but things went awry for Ineos in the first week when Geraint Thomas was taken down by a stray bidon. 

Henderson said: “Rohan is a great team player, I know not everyone has seen that. He's wanted to ride for a Grand Tour leader, so honestly when Gee went down and was out of the race, it was a little bit of a letdown. And so Rohan was rolling along in the group and not doing a lot of work right there in those first 10 days.”

Ineos switched roles in the race and took to dominating stage victories, but as the race entered the final week 25-year-old Tao Geoghegan Hart found himself within reach of the podium, and once again Dennis could put himself at the service of a GC leader. 

On stage 18, Dennis put in an absolutely phenomenal ride in support of Geoghegan Hart over the Stelvio, dropping Sunweb’s Wilco Kelderman and helping his team-mate move into third overall.

Then two days later on stage 20 to Sestriere, Dennis was back at the front and once again dispatched Kelderman putting Geoghegan Hart in position to win the stage and match Jai Hindley on time.

The following day Geoghegan Hart would secure the overall victory with his solo TT performance. 

Henderson said: “As things started to turn he got fully engaged and that plan [to support a GC leader] was still there.

“It just so happened that Tao was in a great position and Rohan was absolutely on fire and those last nine days.

“The switch was flipped and man then on the Stelvio, that was absolutely spectacular and then following that up with Sestriere was amazing. He was just fully engaged and all in  to do what was possible and to make what seemed impossible possible.” 

But what does it mean for a coach to see his rider turning the tides in a Grand Tour, putting his own ambitions aside in the process? 

>>> End of season ratings: How did each men’s WorldTour team perform in 2020?

Henderson said: “It was a great third week and it was really amazing as a coach to know that he had an impact on the race, a very dramatic impact overall in helping his teammate have that ultimate success. 

“He's an incredibly capable rider right, he's got that engine, but he also loves to be able to commit to a team, and can put other's goals ahead of his own while still then preserving some capacity.” 

The dispute between Rohan Dennis and Bahrain-McLaren has been thrown out by the UCI.

Time trial world champion Dennis had a very public falling out with his old team during the 2019 season, which resulted in Bahrain terminating his contract mid-way through the year.

Dennis then lodged a complaint with cycling’s international governing body, arguing he should be paid until the end of 2020.

But the UCI arbitration board dismissed the claim, saying: “The board issued today (Thursday, July 30) a decision in the case opposing Mr. Rohan Dennis to the paying agent Bahrain World Tour Cycling Team of the UCI WorldTeam Bahrain-McLaren.

“The Panel dismissed the rider’s claims. The decision may be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport within 30 days.”

Tensions between Dennis and his team boiled over during the 2019 Tour de France when the Australian mysteriously abandoned the race on stage 12 with no explanation. The Tour’s only individual time trial was coming on the next stage, with the now two-time world time trial champion a clear favourite for victory. Allegedly however, the differences between the team and the rider developed because of Dennis dissatisfaction with the equipment provided to him for time trials.

Dennis did not race for the team, then called Bahrain-Merida, again and went on to win a second consecutive world time trial title on an unbranded BMC bike instead of the team issue Merida.

Then immediately after the world championship road race in Yorkshire last September, where Dennis played a support role for the Australian team, Bahrain announced they had terminated Dennis’s contract.

The contract termination took place on September 13 according to the statement released by the team, but was not made public until after the World Championships to allow Dennis space to prepare.

>>> Jumbo-Visma: Tour de France not just us versus Team Ineos 

Dennis has since signed with Team Ineos on a two-year deal.

Rohan Dennis has once again proved his talents on the indoor trainer, after winning his second Team Ineos Zwift race last weekend.

The time trial world champion has emerged as a star of the virtual racing world during the coronavirus lockdown, as pros have been forced to find new ways to sharpen their competitive edge.

Indoor cycling’s popularity has only increased after racing was suspended during coronavirus lockdown and many nations previously enforced cycling bans to prevent the spread of the illness.

With plenty of WorldTour teams competing in virtual events, we’ve had the chance to see which pros can churn out the power on the static trainer.

Dennis has been a clear star of online racing, while Greg Van Avermaet also showed his resilience when he won the Virtual Tour of Flanders in April.

Meanwhile Remco Evenpoel, an almost peerless talent out on the road, hasn’t shone in the same way.

So what makes the difference?

Cycling Weekly asked the experts to find out which pros will thrive in the virtual world, and which are likely to prefer two wheels on the tarmac.

“Zwift races are really, really hard,” said Matt Rowe, business manager at coaching company Rowe and King, “Because you have capable riders who are motivated and give 100 per cent on key sectors, just like IRL [in real life].

“If you’re unaware, inexperience or go in to the race not 100 per cent motivated, you will struggle and get dropped.”

While indoor racing is growing in popularity, it’s charms aren’t obvious to everyone – it’s not easy emptying the tank in your living room, without the joys of the great outdoors or the wind in your face to cool you down.

A number of pro riders aren’t convinced by virtual racing, with Steven Kruijswijk saying “it’s a different sport” and riders like Tom Dumoulin and Thibaut Pinot also sharing their doubts.

At first glance it may seem like time trial prowess is the key to being a great virtual racer, with Rohan Dennis flourishing in the Team Ineos Zwift races and also winning two of the Digital Swiss Five events in April.

TT star Stefan Küng also soloed to an upset victory in the Digital Swiss Five series as well.

But there is more to online racing than just sustained power: Remco Evenepoel, the reigning European time trial champion and silver medallist in the Worlds TT last year, in theory should amongst the pros competing for the win online, but instead seems to have struggled against his rivals.

In the opening stage of the Digitial Swiss Five, a 26km even with an uphill finish on the Rouvy virtual platform, Dennis took the win by more than a minute over Nicolas Roche, while Evenepoel finished seventh, 2-37 back on the winner.

The results prompted EF Pro Cycling boss Jonathan Vaughters to weigh-in.

He said: “Interesting to me watching some of these results. When you remove aerodynamics, beyond very basic surface area calculations, the results change.

“I’ve always suspected Evenepoel wasn’t an overly powerful riders at the pro level, but he is aerodynamically very efficient for his mass.”

But Rowe thinks the difference is much simpler – motivation.

He said: “We all know Remco for example is world class and he has the ability to be world class on Zwift. But I believe it’s a mindset, motivational issue.

“As soon as those gaps go by a few seconds up a climb it’s extremely difficult to close down.

“The physics are different to IRL. You need to be aware and race accordingly.”

One rider who knows the tactics of Zwift racing inside out is Ed Laverack, the British hill climb champion and rider for Saint Piran out on the roads.

Out of 183 Zwift races Laverack has won 33, which has given him invaluable insight into the mechanics of virtual racing.

“A good Zwift racer is one that has a good spread of strength across the board,” the 25-year-old said.

“Outside it’s more complicated in a way, because you have teams of riders working together to save energy for one or two protected road riders.

“Numbers from road races usually don’t have very high watts per kilogram numbers because there is more to it than that.”

Laverack said that a 20-minute power of around 6w/kg combined with a 15-second power of 15+w/kg would make a rider competitive in all Zwift races – those are some superhuman numbers to most of us.

But Zwift is more than just the rider with the highest w/kg winning as tactics and drafting still come in to play.

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Laverack said: “The way Zwift physics work, you can sit in and save energy, but not as much as you can in real life or you’ll get dropped.

“Tactics-wise it can be very similar. It’s never usually a case of the rider with the biggest w/kg winning, but rather how they use it.

“Any flat stretch of road and you’ll find me at the back, any downhill and you’ll find me aero-tucking.”

Laverack added: “ Dennis is good at what he does, but if he raced with ‘Zwifters’ rather than his Ineos team-mates, he’d be there for the finish but we are yet to see what he can do in a sprint finish on Zwift.”

Rohan Dennis bookended his first win on the opening day of the Digital Swiss Five with another victory in the final fifth race.

In fact, it was a repeat of the one-two result on Wednesday, as the Australian beat Nicolas Roche (Sunweb) by 12 seconds, with Jumbo-Visma's Jonas Vingegaard in third, 26 seconds later.

EF Pro Cycling's James Whelan had attacked early but the world time trial champion soon caught his compatriot, barely being troubled over the remaining kilometres as Nicolas Roche desperately hustled behind in vain to close the gap.

Star riders such as Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) and Trek-Segafredo's Vincenzo Nibali failed to feature in the top of the rankings.

How it happened

The now-expected initial attack came from Bahrain-McLaren's Wout Poels, with his former team-mate Michał Kwiatkowski reacting and other riders scrambling to get on his wheel as the race immediately headed uphill.

However, the Dutch rider fell back as James Whelan (EF Pro Cycling) made a solo move out front. After 4km Whelan had taken out an 80m advantage, pumping out 450W as he tried to make his move stick as Ilnur Zakarin (CCC), Rohan Dennis (Ineos) and Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) tried to pull him back.

It wasn't long until Dennis had ditched his poursuivant group and was making his way up towards Whelan. By the halfway-stage of the climb, he had overtaken his fellow Australian.

As Whelan dropped back Schachmann took up the chase in second, 50m behind Dennis. After 10km, however, the Ineos rider had pulled 140m clear, with the downhill section still to come where the world time trial champion's abilities could truly shine. At the first time check Dennis was 12 seconds ahead of Schachmann, with Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) a further five seconds back.

Schachmann soon fell back, with Vingegaard leapfrogging him as Dennis crested the climb, putting out 400w as he extended his advantage to 250m.

After 20km and the majority of riders now on the downhill, Dennis was taking full advantage, flying away from the rest of the field, his gap up to a whopping 500m.

Julian Alaphilippe then briefly hopped off his bike to grab his tv remote, trying to keep himself entertained as he failed to threaten the top of the standings.

Nicolas Roche was grimacing on his Monaco balcony but his effort was paying off as he climbed up to second place. The Irishman was gaining too, bringing Dennis back to within 140m, with Schachmann 90m further behind Roche as they approached the final hill to the finish.

As the gradient reached seven per cent, a wide-eyed, fairly comfortable looking Dennis was still pumping out 450W from his garage as Roche turned himself inside out in his attempt to catch the Ineos rider.

Under the flamme rouge, Roche had brought Dennis back to within 90m, 11 seconds behind, with Vingegaard the next closest half a minute back.

The Australian was unstoppable as he duly crossed the line in first, and with Roche second it was a repeat of the first Digital Swiss Five race result.

Result

Digital Swiss Five, race five: Camperio to Disentis-Sedrun (37.82km)

1. Rohan Dennis (Aus) Ineos, in 59-28

2. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Sunweb, at 12 seconds

3. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma, at 38s

4. Chris Hamilton (Aus) Sunweb, at 45s

5. Max Schachmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 49s

No doubt Cycling Weekly readers are missing their usual dose of professional bike racing – I know I am.

The racing vacuum has led to many of us turning to other platforms to get our fix, and one very welcome way of seeing off the lockdown boredom is listening to podcasts.

Fortunately, presenter and journalist Matt Barbet has released a new series of Home Roads, his unique podcast with insight into some of the biggest stars in cycling.

While Barbet’s podcast usually sees him head out into the world to ride with professionals on their favourite home routes, the coronavirus lockdown has obviously forced a change of circumstances.

Instead the renowned cycling pundit has been speaking to pros while staying at home, offering an insight into their lives.

You can listen to Home Roads via your usual podcast app, or by clicking here.

There are four new episode Home Roads now available, including interviews with ultra-distance and gravel gladiator Lachlan Morton (EF Pro Cycling) from his home in Colorado, world time trial champion Rohan Dennis (Team Ineos) from Girona, retired WorldTour pro turned gravel racer Ian Boswell from Vermont, and British superstar Tom Pidcock from his home country of Yorkshire.

>>> How best to celebrate the third anniversary of your double lung transplant? A 100km indoor ride of course 

Previously Barbet has interviewed Yorkshire rider and former world champion Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo).

Last year Deignan offered an honest insight into how she started riding, being scouted from school, and how she spent her year away from racing.

World champion Deignan joined Barbet to ride near her home-town of Otley and recce some of the Yorkshire 2019 World Championships course.

The lack of racing on the cycling calendar has resulted in riders and teams looking elsewhere for to get their competitive fix.

We have seen a host of virtual races introduced in the last few weeks across a number of indoor training platforms, including Zwift and Rouvy.

Within each cycling discipline, different riders rise to the top and virtual racing is no different.

It looks like Rohan Dennis, the Australian world time trial champion, could be the star of coronavirus lockdown indoor racing, having won his last two virtual events.

Dennis stormed to victory against an all-star line-up of his team-mates in the Ineos Zwift race, before following up with a dominant victory in the first race of the Digital Swiss Five event.

While Cycling Weekly spoke to Dennis's coach earlier this year to find out what makes him such a talent on the road, Dennis has now explained his performance when the wheels are off.

On the Team Ineos race victory atop the daunting Alpe du Zwift, he said: “Time trial training was really key to winning this event. I had a chat with Neal [Henderson, Dennis’s coach] in the week before the race and worked out what kind of effort I would need to put in.

“With the race being only an hour long, and the climb more or less 35 minutes, it couldn’t have been any more tailor-made for me, especially after all the shorter high intensity training I’ve been doing lately.”

With no racing on the calendar and many pros banned from riding outside due to their government’s coronavirus restrictions, indoor training has been an essential tool for plenty of riders, even with no specific goals to train for.

“With the lockdown that's in place at the moment i've been doing a lot of indoor training, including structured sessions on the turbo trainer and off-the-bike core strength stuff.

“To be honest I am not trying to gain fitness at the moment - truth be told I've actually lost a little! Right now I'm just trying to maintain a level of fitness which I can lift once there is a known race date.”

Dennis has spoken of how tough he is finding quarantine and has since deleted social media profiles after he posted a picture of himself appearing to break lockdown rules in Australia. 

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As you’d expect for a pro rider, Dennis has all the bells and whistles for his indoor riding, all from Wahoo, including the workout mat, the Kickr turbo trainer and the Kickr climb, which lifts the front wheel to simulate gradients.

He also says he uses Wahoo’s indoor training platform The Sufferfest for his shorter, more intense sessions, and then will often put on a film to get him through.

Dennis’s main tips for virtual racing?

“Just send it!” he said. “Have some fun with it and don’t take it too seriously. It’s not like a road race where a group has a huge benefit over a lone rider. Although there is some advantage in drafting, it’s not the same as out on the road – especially uphill – so you really can use that to your favour.”

The coronavirus crisis has forced the cycling world to adapt and overcome over the last few months, which has resulted in some unexpected new events.

Cycling data company Velon, which works with a large number of WorldTour teams, has come up with an innovative new race to keep fans in touch with superstars online.

The Digital Swiss Five, organised by Velon and the Tour de Suisse, kicks off on Wednesday (April 22) and runs over five days, with stars like Julian Alaphilippe, Remco Evenepoel, and world champion Mads Pedersen all virtually lining up.

A total of 19 teams will race in the online event, including 16 WorldTour teams, with Team Ineos, Deceuninck – Quick-Step and Mitchelton-Scott all taking part.

Here’s the full start list and  how to watch the unique race :

Start list for race one

Ag2r La Mondiale (Fra)

Silvan Dillier

Julien Duval

Alexis Gougeard

Bahrain-McLaren (Brn)

Phil Bauhaus

Ivan Garcia Cortina

Jan Tratnik

Bora-Hansgrohe (Ger)

Lukas Pöstlberger

Martin Laas

Patrick Gamper

CCC Team (Pol)

Kamil Gradek

Greg Van Avermaet

Gjis Van Hoecke

Deceuninck - Quick-Step (Bel)

Sam Bennett

Rémi Cavagna

Michael Mørkøv

EF Pro Cycling (USA)

Mitch Docker

Moreno Hofland

Tom Scully

Groupama-FDJ (Fra)

Stefan Küng

Fabian Lienhard

Benjamin Thomas

Israel Start-Up Nation (Isr)

Alexander Cataford

Davide Cimolai

James Piccoli

Lotto-Soudal (Bel)

Frederik Frison

Brian Van Goethem

Florian Vermeersch

Mitchelton-Scott (Aus)

Michael Albasini

Michael Hepburn

Callum Scotson

Movistar (Esp)

Gabriel Cullaigh

Johan Jacobs

Jurgen Roelandts

NTT Pro Cycling (RSA)

Edvald Boasson

Hagen Rasmus Tiller

Max Walscheid

Rally Cycling (USA)

Stephen Bassett

Matteo Dal-Cin

Nickolas Zukowsky

Team Ineos (Gbr)

Filippo Ganna

Chris Lawless

Ian Stannard

Jumbo-Visma (Ned)

Pascal Eenkhoorn

Amund Grøndahl Jansen

Mike Teunissen

Sunweb (Ger)

Alberto Dainese

Nico Denz

Michael Matthews

Total Direct Energie (Fra)

Romain Cardis

Florian Maitre

Lorenzo Manzin

Trek-Segafredo (USA)

Mads Pedersen

Edward Theuns

Emils Liepiņš

Swiss National Team (SUI)

Stefan Bissegger

Claudio Imhof

Michael Schâr

How to watch

The race will be broadcast on TV in a number of nations around the world, including Belgium, France and Germany, but it will not be shown on TV in the UK.

A VPN provider like ExpressVPN can protect your privacy as well as unblock geo-locked content so you can access your home broadcaster’s coverage even when away from home. Try risk-free with a 30-day money-back trial.

But UK fans don’t need to fear, Velon and all the teams racing in the event will be broadcasting live on Facebook and Twitter (but not in the USA, Canada and Japan).

Race schedule:

Race one: Wednesday, April 22, 4.10pm – 5.20 UK time

Race two: Thursday, April 23, 4.10pm – 5.20pm UK time

Race three: Friday, April 24, 4.10 – 5.20 UK time

Race four: Saturday, April 25, 5.10pm – 6.20 UK time

Race five: Sunday, April 26, 1.10pm – 2.20pm UK time

Broadcast coverage:

Europe

Belgium, Poland, Portugal, Italy: ELEVEN Sports Network

Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia: SportKlub

France and DOM-TOM: L’Équipe

Germany: ZDF

Netherlands: NOS

Switzerland: SRG

Scandinavia 

Denmark: TV2

Norway: TV2

Middle East

Israel: Sport 5

Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa: SuperSport

Asia

Japan: J-Sports

Myanmar, Taiwan: ELEVEN Sports Network

North America

USA and Canada: FloBikes

Australia 

SBS Australia

New Zealand 

Sky NZ

Global 

Olympic Channel (excluding USA and Canada)

The Digital Swiss Five will use virtual training platform Rouvy and will feature climbs and courses from the real-life Tour de Suisse.

Rohan Dennis claimed a second consecutive virtual race victory, as he won the opening event of the Digital Swiss Five series.

The world time trial champion played it cool in the opening 10km of the online challenge, upping the pace and catching the leaders near the summit of the first climb, comfortably riding away as he put his TT prowess to good use.

With the likes of Remco Evenepoel and Nicolas Roche in pursuit, Team Ineos rider Dennis remained calm and put out some huge power numbers to take the first win, following on from his victory in the Team Ineos Zwift race.

How it happened

The first race of the unique Digital Swiss Five series was a 26km ride from Agarn to Leukerbad, with a climb early in the race before a long descent, followed by a second ascent and then a final ramp up to the finish.

Early in proceedings it was Australian Luke Durbridge (Mitchelton-Scott) and James Whelan (EF Pro Cycling) who broke clear, putting out around 400 to 500 watts to get the gap.

Meanwhile Mathias Frank from Ag2r La Mondiale either suffered technical difficulties or missed the start of the race, and was left standing at the start line with zero watts.

World time trial champion Rohan Dennis, fresh from victory in the Team Ineos Zwift race, soon made his move from the bunch on the climb, with his team-mate Cameron Wurf further up the road.

Dennis steadily gained on his rivals out front while averaging a staggering 6 watts per kilogram, which carried him to the front of the race and past the leader Whelan near the top of the first climb, around 10km into the race.

Behind, Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) began to make his move putting out around 6w/kg himself and moving up into fourth, but the effort wasn’t enough and he began to lose ground on his rivals at the mid-way point.

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Meanwhile Dennis continued to put time into his rivals, as Whelan slipped back to third and Nicolas Roche (Sunweb) moved up into second place.

Dennis crossed the line first, as his avatar raised its hands in celebration, with Roche finishing second more than a minute back, with James Whelan holding on for third place after a heroic ride.

Results

Digital Swiss Five, race one: Agarn to Leukerbad (26km)

1. Rohan Dennis (Aus) Team Ineos, in 53-07

2. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Sunweb, at 1-09

3. James Whelan (Aus) EF Pro Cycling, at 1-127

Rohan Dennis has deleted his social media profiles after posting a picture on Instagram appearing to show the Australian rider breaking lockdown rules.

Dennis lives in Girona, Spain, and posted a picture showing him in his car, captioning the image: "Day 34 - cracked and left the house. #covid19 can suck my ass and so can quarantine."

In the comments, one person suggested the Ineos rider would be told off and soon have to issue a public apology, to which Dennis replied: "Imagine if everyone lived by your ideal world that we can't speak our mind and show our emotions."

Another asked why Dennis would waste his time with the inevitable backlash from posting the picture, with the world time trial champion answering: "Or I could show the reality of how s**t the situation is and not be one of your beloved drones who show their 'perfect world' as an elite athlete. Which one would you like. Real or fake?"

Dennis subsequently deleted both his Instagram and Twitter, something he did last year after quitting the Tour de France, saying that decision was taken with consideration for his mental health.

Spain is currently one of the countries that has been hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 20,000 deaths. Lockdown measures are strict and people are not allowed out of their homes even to exercise.

Team Ineos, who have been contributing to coronavirus relief efforts, are yet to make a statement on the situation.

The British squad have been assisting their sponsors in distributing a million bottles of hand sanitiser to NHS hospitals in the UK.

>>> Is pedalling really the next big wellspring of untapped watts?

With rescheduled dates for the Tour de France announced last week, Ineos boss Dave Brailsford said he would be taking a cautious approach to resuming racing, indicating he would pull his team from the race if it wasn't safe.

"We would reserve the right to withdraw the team should we deem it necessary," he said. "There will be a lot of debate generated about the rights and wrongs of the transitions out of lockdown across all aspects of society, including sporting events.

"Equally, most people recognise that the learning from transitioning out of lockdown will only take place once it begins. We will monitor the situation very carefully and of course take note of national guidance and all advice."

Perhaps the most anticipated Zwift race of the lockdown, the Team Ineos event saw some of the biggest stars in the world fight it out on the virtual climbs of Watopia.

With three Tour de France winners – Geraint Thomas, Chris Froome and Egan Bernal - all lining alongside world time trial champion Rohan Dennis, there was some phenomenal talent on display for the 27km-long race up Alpe du Zwift.

It was the Australian Rohan Dennis who emerged triumphant in the unique event, finishing 56 seconds ahead of Ireland’s Eddie Dunbar.

But what do the power numbers tell us?

Unsurprisingly, double world TT champion Dennis has an enormous engine, as Cycling Weekly found out earlier this year when we spoke to his long-standing coach Neal Henderson.

Power data from the Zwift Companion app shows that Dennis averaged 373 watts for the 58-minute effort, and as a 72kg rider that equates to a huge 5.18 watts per kilogram - not bad considering there is no racing and Dennis would be looking to peak for the World Championships late in the year.

Dunbar actually put in an even bigger effort when measuring his watts per kilogram, averaging 5.38 w/kg for 58-57, but just wasn’t able to match his team-mates power output as he held 312w for the duration.

Dennis had an average heart-rate of 157 beats per minute, compared with Dunbar’s 165bpm.

Poland’s Michał Kwiatkowski rounded out the podium in the first race of its kind, finishing 59 seconds behind the winner.

Former world champion Kwiatkowski put out 339w for 59 minutes, which is 5.06 w/kg.

Surprisingly it was triathlete Cameron Wurf who crossed the line fourth, after he joined Team Ineos as a workhorse earlier this year.

Wurf finished in an hour, holding 365w (5.06 w/kg) for the effort.

Chris Froome, the four-time Tour de France winner, put in an impressive ride but only managed sixth place with his 355w average (5.07 w/kg), which still made him the best of the Ineos Grand Tour winners on the day.

Meanwhile Geraint Thomas crossed the line in 19th place out of 28 riders, with 292w average at 4.31 w/kg.

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Egan Bernal, the Colombian superstar, only managed 28th place amongst his team-mates, with 253w average and 4.36 w/kg.

And for anyone wondering how they would fare themselves, the last placed rider was Jonathan Narvaez, who finished 15 minutes down on Dennis but still average 272w for one hour and 13 minutes, which comes to 4.12 w/kg.

“Rohan is in some ways a perfectionist. He’s highly driven and expects everyone to be as professional as he is,” says Neal Henderson, an endurance sport coach with a remarkable, if understated, palmarés.

Henderson has worked with some of the biggest stars in professional cycling, coaching a selection of world champions and is the only coach to ever train both a male and female athlete to World Hour Records.

The former professional triathlete is head of sports science division for Wahoo Fitness, chief science officer for their indoor training app The Sufferfest, and coaches athletes through Apex Coaching and Consulting, based in Boulder, Colorado.

During a short visit to the UK in February Henderson sat down with Cycling Weekly to talk about arguably his most high-flying athlete, reigning world time trial champion Rohan Dennis.

Dennis vs Phinney

Henderson and Dennis first met back in 2008 at the Junior Track World Championships in South Africa, while Henderson was coaching then-rising time trial star Taylor Phinney.

In the finals of the individual pursuit, Phinney and Dennis went head-to-head, with the young American Phinney emerging triumphant.

But it wasn’t until 2012 when Dennis and Henderson teamed up as a coaching duo.

Since then the Australian rider has had some phenomenal success, including two time trial world titles and a brief spell as World Hour Record holder in February 2015, but the road has been far from smooth.

“There’s an evolution of a rider over time,” Henderson said, recalling the early years working with Dennis.

“He didn’t have that instantaneous success at World Championships and time trialling – not that he had failures by any stretch, but he was close on a couple of occasions that just didn’t work out.”

World Championship woes

Dennis, now 29, rode his first elite Worlds TT in 2013 aged 23, making his mark with a 12th place as Tony Martin rode to victory in Tuscany.

He then finished in the top 10 at the next four World Championships, making a huge effort in pursuit of the win in Spain in 2014, but fading in the closing stages to take fifth, then suffering a puncture in 2015 in Richmond, finishing sixth.

But Henderson says the lessons learned at the Worlds only spurred Dennis on: “He actually went for it in 2014 in Spain. That year he went and threw down, put himself in a medal position and faded out a little bit towards the end – that’s actually what helped provide fuel for his Hour Record attempt in 2015, to be able to learn pacing even better.

“Then at the Worlds in 2015 he had a flat and a bike change, and his spare bike didn’t have a computer and didn’t have a water bottle so he rode the last 40km blind, under-hydrated and under-fuelled.”

Dennis’s luck continued to ebb and flow over the next few years – with the Hour Record, winning the opening stage of the 2015 Tour de France, taking the yellow jersey, then missing out on the silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics when his handlebar broke, forcing him to settle for fifth after a bike change.

Then in 2018, the dream was finally realised as Dennis took his first World Championship time trial title, beating the reigning champion Tom Dumoulin in Innsbruck by an enormous 1-21 margin.

Long-awaited glory

The success didn’t end there.

Amidst a turbulent relationship with his Bahrain-Merida team, which saw Dennis drop out of the Tour de France, he followed up with another forceful win at the 2019 Worlds in Yorkshire.

Henderson said: “In 2018 he put everything together, just an amazing everything - start to finish it was done well and he had a huge result.

“Last year as we know there were some challenging things with team situation and whatnot, but he buckled in for seven weeks on his own, doing the training required.

“He nailed the day and walked away. With all the pressure of having won the world's a year before, it takes a pretty amazing ability to do that.”

Henderson added: “Winning the first world title is hard – there’s never any easy ones and it took him several years to get it right. But then to repeat that is an even more special race honestly.”

What sets Dennis apart?

But what does it take to be a world champion time triallist?

Sitting in the Wahoo offices near the bank of the Thames in south west London, Henderson explained why Dennis stands out from the pack.

“He’s got a massive drive and ability to go to the limit,” Henderson said, “and then even over the limit, but still hold on and not just fade out.

“Your body is capable of doing things, but your mind is really what allows you to access another level.”

Henderson said that as a young rider, Dennis hadn’t mastered his abilities, often putting himself too far into the red during training and not getting the best out of himself in races.

Over the years he learned not to go as deep in training, saving his real effort for his big goals.

Henderson said: “You also to have a certain ability, right? He has natural ability, but couple that with good training, execution on the day, and the ability to focus, it’s pretty special to sustain that over time.

“Without success over a few years, he didn’t give up and just say ‘I’m not going to do this anymore’. He kept that fire and built it even more, which is not typical.”

How to train for a World Championship time trial

So what did the training look like for the Yorkshire Worlds?

With Dennis’s background in track, he has always had an enormous engine for three and four-minute events like the individual and team pursuits, but that power needed to be cultivated to last for the one-hour, 54km rolling course in Yorkshire.

First Henderson and Dennis focused on pushing up the maximum aerobic power, or V02 max, ceiling in the initial phase, and then moved on to building the sustainability, which is a longer process.

Henderson said: “In that seven-week block leading up to the Worlds, he didn’t do a single week over 20 hours of training. Most people think you’re lying.”

The pair also looked closely at the Yorkshire course to see where Dennis would need to push above his threshold power, particularly the significant hills along the route.

To prepare for those efforts, Dennis trained with over-threshold sessions at his max aerobic power and anaerobic capacity, with short 10 to 20-second intervals with limited recovery.

While Dennis did also have to do some steady state endurance rides of five or six hours in preparation for his support role in the World Championship road race, Henderson knew that his rider cannot perform at his best with a heavy training load.

Henderson said: “Having worked with him now for several years we were able to find that 30 hours digs him a hole. He's done that that in a Grand Tour and he's not getting faster, I can tell you that. It's beating him down.

“Making that training specific to the demands of the course and being able to produce that power in the arrow is really important.”

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As a clear example of Dennis’s perfect form in Yorkshire, Henderson points to the moment he caught his Slovenian rival Primož Roglič on a 20 per cent climb with 10km left to race – Dennis powered past in the aero position while Roglič struggled to keep up while out of the saddle.

Henderson said: “That’s a very big difference in cost from a physiological standpoint – standing and using the entire body versus staying locked it.

“Some of that is physical and mental preparation, it keeps the heart-rate down, stay in control and [Dennis] was able to continue on.”

What next for Dennis?

Four days after his second World Championship time trial victory, immediately after the conclusion of the Worlds road race, Dennis’s Bahrain-McLaren team announced they had terminated the rider’s contract, after a season of conflict between Dennis and the team.

For 2020 he has signed with British WorldTour squad Team Ineos, later joking that his paycheque isn’t as big as it used to be.

On paper Ineos looks like a good fit for Dennis, with their high-level professionalism, keen eye for technical details, and long history of success in time trials.

How does Henderson see the move?

“They’ve done a fantastic job and Rohan is in some ways a perfectionist,” he said.

“He’s highly driven and he expects everyone to be as professional as he is. The fit that we see in the team is part of that – everyone there is doing their job well and that helps foster a good feeling.”

Dennis’s major targets for 2020 had been the Olympic time trial in Japan, and then a return to the World Championships to try for a third consecutive title – but with Olympics now postponed until 2021 and no clear indication of when bike racing will return, who knows when we’ll see Dennis as his peak once more.

Rohan Dennis will lead Ineos at the Tour Down Under in what will be his first race for the British team.

The Australian will be supported at his home stage race by a strong line-up, including Luke Rowe, Owain Doull and Pavel Sivakov, as he targets the overall victory.

Ian Stannard, Dylan van Baarle and Chris Lawless complete the seven-man squad, in what is the first WorldTour event of the 2020 season.

Ineos sports director Brett Lancaster said: "We’re taking seven strong guys into the race. Rohan has won the race before and knows what it takes to win. He will be our leader in his hometown."

>>> Bjarne Riis returns to men’s WorldTour as NTT Pro Cycling boss

Dennis previously won the six-day stage race in 2015, beating Richie Porte by just two seconds. However, should Dennis not deliver Ineos will trust in either Pavel Sivakov or Dylan van Baarle to challenge for the overall victory.

"We’ve got great insurance policies in Pavel and Dylan. They’ve been here training since the new year and are both in good shape. We’ve got some cards to play and the Paracombe stage, on day three, will show very clearly where we’re all at," added Lancaster.

Dennis won't be the only one beginning life at a new team at the Tour Down Under, as Sam Bennett makes his debut for Deceuninck - Quick-Step and will aim to gain his first stage wins for his new Belgian employers in Australia.

Chris Lawless, who beat Greg Van Avermaet to the Tour de Yorkshire title last year, will be Ineos' option in the sprint stages, and Lancaster says the British team will be going out on the offensive straight from the off in 2020: "We also have Chris for the sprint days and by all accounts, he’s in good condition. We’re gonna give it a good go."

The first national championship titles of 2020 have been decided in Australia, as Rohan Dennis missed out on the time trial jersey to Luke Durbridge for a second year running.

Played out in the relatively cool 20-degree temperatures of Buninyong, Victoria in the south east of the country, Australia’s elite male time triallists fought over a 37.5km course.

Mitchelton-Scott’s Luke Durbridge pulled clear of his rivals to finish in 46-18, with an average speed of 48.596km/h, finishing 18 seconds ahead of Dennis.

Newly added to the Team Ineos roster, Dennis claimed the silver medal while Jumbo-Visma’s Chris Harper took bronze, 1-53 behind the winner.

The women’s nation TT title went to Sarah Gigante of Tibo-SVB, who finished the 28.6km course in 42-41 with an average speed of 40.203km/h.

Mitchelton-Scott’s Grace Brown finished just nine seconds down to take silver, while Emily Herfoss finished third at 11 seconds.

Amanda Spratt, also with Mitchelton-Scott, took fourth and her team-mate Lucy Kennedy finished up in sixth.

World TT champion Dennis already has three Australian national jerseys to his name, having won the event in 2016, ’17 and ’18.

But the national title has eluded the 29-year-old for the last two years, after Durbridge also claimed the 2019 title by a 22-second margin over Dennis.

Dennis also recently revealed that he has parked his plans to become a Grand Tour contender in the next few years, after growing concerned for his health.

He feared developing unhealthy eating habits and even a potential eating disorder, as he tried to trim down his weight to be a major player in three-week races.

In an interview with the Adelaide Advertisers, Dennis said: “I don’t know if I want to go down that road and I’ll be honest with you, I started to eat and not eat and was on that slippery slope of a complex or disorder.”

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In 2019, Dennis battled through a turbulent year that saw him abandon the Tour de France unexpectedly before returning to defend his world title for a second year in Yorkshire, all amid rising tension with his Bahrain-Merida team which resulted in his contract being terminated immediately after the Worlds.

Durbridge, 28, now has four Australian ITT titles to his name, having won his first back in 2012.

The Australian national championships will continue on Saturday with the under-23 road race, before the elite women’s and men’s titles are decided on Sunday.

Australian National Time Trial Championships 2020 results

Elite women’s individual time trial, Buninyong to Buninyong (28.6k)

1. Sarah Gigante (Tibco-SVB), in 41-41

2. Grace Brown (Mitchelton-Scott), at 9s

3. Emily Herfoss, at 11s

Elite men’s individual time trial, Buninyong to Buninyong (37.5km)

1. Luke Durbridge (Mitchelton-Scott), in 46-18

2. Rohan Dennis (Team Ineos), at 18s

3. Chris Harper (Jumbo-Visma), at 1-53

The pressure of being a Grand Tour rider are unimaginable to most of us.

Incessant training regimes, measures to avoid illness and the huge differences in racing schedule make three-week contenders a different breed to most cyclists.

But there is one aspect of Grand Tour racing that can impact more than just your results – the diet.

Rohan Dennis, the reigning time trial world champion, is the latest rider who grew concerned for his wellbeing after setting himself targets in the three biggest stage races.

Dennis, who has joined Team Ineos for 2020 after a turbulent season last year, said he feared developing disordered eating habits as he looked to become a Grand Tour contender in the next few years.

In an interview with The Adelaide Advertiser, Dennis said: “I don’t know if I want to go down that road and I’ll be honest with you, I started to eat and not eat and was on that slippery slope of a complex or disorder.

“It got to a point where I was putting on weight, I would have one beer but then feel guilty and wouldn’t eat at training the next day, so then I couldn’t train properly, I wouldn’t do a good session, eat minimal and bonk again. Then you think you’re s**t, you feel down and you keep going.”

In 2017, Dennis began a planned four-year transformation into a Grand Tour contender, hoping to emulate time trial specialists like Sir Bradley Wiggins and Tom Dumoulin, and appeared to be making in-roads as he finished 16th in the 2018 Giro d’Italia.

Last season he finished second in the Tour de Suisse behind eventual Tour de France winner Egan Bernal (Team Ineos), marking another milestone in his pursuit of one of the iconic jerseys.

But the 29-year-old then unexpectedly abandoned the Tour de France during stage 12, which played into ongoing tension with his team management with Bahrain-Merida finally terminating his contract in September.

The experience has prompted Dennis to re-think his Grand Tour ambitions.

He said: “I’m not sure if it’s really worth going through the stress of trying to match that. I’m more comfortable with still having a life off the bike and being the best in the world at something.”

Dennis said he had dropped down to 68kg from his ideal time trial weight of 70-71kg before the 2019 World Championships in Yorkshire, where he claimed a second consecutive TT title. He says he took diet supplements creatine and whey protein to get back up to weight.

Eating disorders have been an increasing concern in the cycling world, with Jani Brajkovič revealing he had been dealing with his own unhealthy relationship with food and a diet expert recently warning that she had seen an increase in cyclists with eating disorders. 

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Chris Froome, the Team Ineos leader and four-time Tour de France winner, recently revealed some of the pressure a Grand Tour rider faces when it comes to diet.

Speaking on Watts Occuring, a podcast hosted by his team-mates Geraint Thomas and Luke Rowe, Froome said he has been able to keep his weight down during his long recovery because he hasn’t had the same appetite while not training.

Froome, who hasn’t raced since his awful crash during the 2019 Critérium du Dauphiné, said: “To be honest, it wasn’t that hard [keeping the weight down]. I think given that I wasn’t riding my bike every day, or exercising that much every day, I didn’t have the same kind of cravings I would normally have.

“Riding six hours a day you’re just starving all the time, starving day and night. For the first time in ages I just wasn’t that hungry.”

Rohan Dennis has reflected on his turbulent 2019 season, which included pulling out of the Tour de France, winning a second consecutive time trial world title, and then signing for Team Ineos.

The Australian star made a shock exit from the Tour the day before the time trial, which resulted in a breakdown in the relationship with his Bahrain-Merida team.

Dennis’s contract was publicly terminated immediately after the World Championships in Yorkshire, leaving him without a team as 2020 loomed.

The 29-year-old then officially signed with British WorldTour outfit Ineos on December 6 where he jumped straight into a training camp in Mallorca.

Appearing on the Watts Occurring, the podcast hosted by his new team-mates Geraint Thomas and Luke Rowe, Dennis discussed the ups and downs of 2019.

When asked about his decision to pull out of the Tour, he said: “In the end it wasn’t good for me to be there for my family.

“I was struggling mentally and in the end it was affecting home life and it was only going to get worse so I decide what’s best for my family and jogged on.”

Dennis didn’t race again until his storming time trial World Championship victory in Yorkshire in September, when he smashed his nearest rival Remco Evenepoel by 1-09.

But that racing hiatus left a lot of time for doubt to creep in, Dennis recalled: “I probably read into all the s**t online too much. I wanted to know what was going on, where I stood in the cycling community.

“It’s probably the worst thing you can do.

“We couldn’t fight it back because it was all about keeping quiet. We agreed on being quiet and sorting it out behind closed doors, but a few things got out.

“[Winning] Was a relief more than anything. It was a good moment. I had my boy and wife at the finish line. It was special.”

Dennis decided to ride the Worlds TT in non-team kit, opting for an unmarked BMC bike and Kask helmet, rather than the Merida bikes and Rudy Project helmets used by Bahrain-Merida.

On September 13, two weeks before the Worlds, Bahrain-Merida terminated Dennis’s contract but did not make the news public until the conclusion of the World Championship road race on September 29.

Despite his emphatic TT victory, Dennis faced an uncertain future as he searched for a new team, eventually beginning talks with Ineos in October.

On December 6 he signed a new contract with Ineos, joking that his paycheque isn’t as big as it used to be.

Discussing his reason for joining Ineos, he said: “It’s the place I think will be able to support my Olympics and time trial aspirations, but also just in the general the team here seems and always has seemed focussed on attention to details.

“When there’s something that can be done, [some teams] just shrug their shoulders and go ‘I can’t be bothered.'

“That doesn’t happen here.”

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Dennis also revealed his has plans to target Victor Campenaerts’s Hour Record, a title Dennis held for three months in 2015.

He revealed he would need to average 430 watts to do 55.5km, which would beat Campenaerts’s distance of 55.089.

Dennis said he plans to take on the Hour Record after the Tokyo Olympics in July.

Rod Ellingworth has said he wanted Rohan Dennis to stay at Bahrain-Merida, a week after it was announced the Australian's contract had been terminated.

The British coach is soon to be unveiled as the new team principal of Bahrain-Merida, and with familiar faces such as Mikel Landa and Wout Poels arriving as new signings Ellingworth will be looking to turn the team into one of the peloton's powerhouses.

>>> Movistar ready to sign Rohan Dennis, according to reports

However, Ellingworth counts the double world time trial champion his team has parted ways with as a big loss, saying Dennis was definitely part of his plans going forward.

"One thing I will say is I wanted Rohan to stay," Ellingworth told The Telegraph. "He was definitely a part of my long-term plans so I’m disappointed at the way things have panned out."

Dennis is said to be challenging his contract termination which was announced before the end of the men's road race at the Yorkshire World Championships, with the Australian having climbed off amidst torrential conditions. Four days earlier he had defended his world time trial title in his first race since abandoning the Tour de France on stage 12, apparently due to a disagreement about equipment.

After his years of dominating the Tour de France with Sky and Ineos, Ellingworth says he has similar plans of Grand Tour domination with his new employers, and seems to relish the prospect of going up against his old boss, Dave Brailsford.

"I’ve no problem in saying that I want this team to become a grand tour-winning team," Ellingworth says. "And yes, that means a Tour de France-winning team."

While the 47-year-old sees Wout Poels as more of an option to contest week-long stage races, he views Mikel Landa as "clearly one of the most gifted climbers in the world. So natural when he’s up on his pedals.

"He’s starting to get to grips with what it takes to be a leader," Ellingworth says, "and I think he’s bloody dangerous in the third week if the course is right for him. We’re going to find out.”

Rohan Dennis, whose contract with Bahrain-Merida was terminated during the men's road race at the Yorkshire World Championships, could be on his way to Movistar, as the Australian shops around for a new team before the start of the 2020 season.

The two-time world time trial champion successfully defended his rainbow bands in Yorkshire, beating Belgium's Remco Evenepoel by more than a minute. However, the quest for a new contract will not be a similar race against the clock, as Dennis will have many suitors this off-season looking to acquire his signature.

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According to Spanish newspaper Marca, Movistar could be a likely destination, with the Spanish team's interest in the 29-year-old "very real" and they are already working towards making signing Dennis a reality.

With a number of high-profile departures, including Mikel Landa to Bahrain-Merida, Nairo Quintana to Arkéa-Samsic and Richard Carapaz to Ineos, Movistar are looking to replenish their ranks with star riders and Dennis would go some way to achieving that aim.

At this stage Dennis is in control of his situation, with a number of teams offering him a space on their rosters for the 2020 season. It's up to the Australian to decide where will work for him and how lucrative each contract offer is. Dimension Data (soon to be known as NTT) is apparently one option, despite the signing of Hour Record holder Victor Campenaerts, as is CCC.

Another factor will be the equipment at Dennis' disposal, with the time trial specialist using his old BMC Timemachine rather than his trade team's Merida bike to tackle the Harrogate course and defend his title.

This was the first time Dennis had raced since his headline-grabbing abandon of the Tour de France where the Australian climbed off during stage 12, apparently unhappy with the equipment provided to him for the time trials.

Bahrain-Merida announced during the men's road race at the Yorkshire World Championships on September 29 that they had terminated Dennis' contract on September 13 but had not made this information public to allow the rider the space to prepare for the Worlds.

The team also confirmed that Dennis had referred the termination to the UCI Arbitral Board.

Bahrain-Merida have announced that they have terminated the contract of Rohan Dennis with immediate effect.

The team announced the termination during the elite men's road race at the Road World Championships in Yorkshire, where Dennis had been racing as part of the Australian team.

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The contract termination took place on September 13 according to the statement released by the team, but was not made public until after the World Championships to allow Dennis space to prepare.

"The team terminated its contract with Mr Dennis on 13th September 2019," a team statement read.

"This termination has not previously been made public to allow Mr Dennis an undisturbed preparation for the UCI 2019 Road World Championships."

"Mr Dennis has referred the termination to the UCI Arbitral Board. Against this background, no further comment will be made at this time."

Having only joined the team at the start of the 2019 season, a rift between the team and Dennis spilled into public view at the Tour de France after the 29-year-old mysteriously abandoned the race on stage 12 with no explanation.

The Tour's only individual time trial was coming on the next stage, with the now two-time world time trial champion a clear favourite for victory. Allegedly however, the differences between the team and the rider developed because of Dennis dissatisfaction with the equipment provided to him for time trials.

He won his second time trial World title just this week on board a blacked-out BMC Timemachine time trial bike instead of a team issue Merida, and on Sunday rode a BMC Teammachine road bike in the Worlds road race, which he abandoned as the race entered Harrogate.

Dennis did not race again for the team following his abrupt abandonment of the Tour and instead trained specifically for the time trial in Yorkshire last Wednesday.

In an interview in his time out of racing, Dennis had initially said he expected to stay with the team heading into the 2020 season, but he is now back on the market and will be an attractive proposition for a number of WorldTour teams.

Rohan Dennis says it was a change in mentality that drove him to a second World time trial title in Yorkshire, saying he has learned to be more positive since his mysterious Tour de France abandonment in July.

The Australian left the Tour on stage 12 and hasn't raced for his Bahrain-Merida team since. In the time away, he has been working towards defending his time trial title at the Road World Championships and says his work with a sports psychologist was key in his emphatic victory.

>>> Five talking points from the Yorkshire World Championship elite men's time trial

Dennis lined up for his turn on the 54km course from Northallerton to Harrogate in his Aussie national skinsuit and on an unmarked BMC Timemachine time trial bike. He started blisteringly fast and eventually finished over a minute ahead of second place Remco Evenepoel (Belgium). Dennis celebrated across the finish line knowing he had claimed his second rainbow jersey.

"All the hard work and all the hard times have been worth it," Dennis said following his victory, "so I'm very, very happy with everything.

"There's been a lot of work done off the bike mentally to get me prepared just to line up here, let alone win," he explained.

"So really, it's a reminder that it wasn't just my body, my body was always good. It was a lot of work off the bike from my sports psychologist, David Spindler and almost a bit of a thank you as well for what he had done for me.

"[He got] me to believe and be more confident and not be so negative in my head, to be more positive about the good things that are going on in my life."

Such was the power and confidence in Dennis's performance, he passed two extremely talented time triallists in Hour Record holder Victor Campanaerts (Belgium) and Vuelta a España winner Primož Roglič (Slovenia) on the course, though Campenaerts had suffered a crash.

Dennis identified though that it had not been until very recently, earlier this month in fact, that he had gained his confidence back ahead of the race. He added that he is ready to continue to push himself in the sport following his time away, with an eye on the Tokyo Olympics time trial in 2020.

"To be exact the 15th of September," Dennis said of regaining his confidence. "I had a good training session. We mimicked last year's preparation training session and we bettered it, comfortably. So that's when my confidence really came back.

"I'm confident in myself. I'm confident that well, basically I'm here to stay," he added. "I'm here to continue to win and continue to basically push to be the best in the world. Not just for the next 12 months but in the future as well.

"So for myself, yes, I know I will be here for a lot longer. I'm not going anywhere."

Rohan Dennis still expects to ride for Bahrain-Merida next season, despite his surprise withdrawal from the 2019 Tour de France.

World time trial champion Dennis was at the centre of a media storm in July when he stepped off the bike on stage 12 of the race, with his team left in the dark as to why.

Dennis hasn’t raced since, but has now given his first interview since the controversy to Australian newspaper The Advertiser as he looks to defend his time trial title at the Yorkshire 2019 World Championships later this month, where he has confirmed he will ride an unbranded time trial bike.

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The 29-year-old still declined to explain in detail why he had abandoned the Tour, but said the backlash was “blown out of proportion.”

“It wasn't pre-planned, it wasn't a stunt, I was talking to my manager before the start and we agreed on finishing the stage and deal with everything else after but I knew that by pulling out in the short term I'd have to deal with some s***, some backlash — I didn't expect it to be this big because it's a bike race — but long term it was the best thing for me to do.

“What I did was pull out of a race, it's been blown out of proportion so much that people have slammed me for being everything under the sun.”

Dennis abandoned the Tour with 84km left to race of stage 12 on the road to Bagnères-de-Biggore, and refused to speak to team management when they called him during the stage to find out why.

Rumours suggested that Dennis pulled out because he was unhappy with bikes and team kit ahead of the time trial the following day, but this has not been confirmed by the rider or team.

In the interview with Adelaide-based newspaper The Advertiser, Dennis said he has not publicly criticised any sponsor or the team, adding that he has left Twitter to avoid the public response and speculation.

He added that he spoke with the team after pulling out of the race and that there were “no hard feelings.”

“The whole stage I was thinking about everything and it was a battle in my own head for a fair chunk of the day," he said. "And if someone is not in the right headspace in a team environment, if someone is not happy, maybe it's also the best thing for the team, and I spoke to the guys at the hotel that night and there were no hard feelings."

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Next on the schedule for Dennis is the time trial at the Yorkshire Worlds on September 25, where he will race an unbranded bike with parts from the Australian national team, saying that is what the national squad feel is best for his body shape and position.

He added that is physically in great shape and put out the best power numbers he has ever done during a recent test, but said missing the Vuelta a España means he hasn’t had the intensity of riding he would like in preparation for the 54km TT from Northallerton to Harrogate.

Dennis is contracted with Bahrain-Merida until 2020 and said the current plan is to remain with the team next season.

Bahrain-Merida say that Rohan Dennis's withdrawal from the 2019 Tour de France a day before the time trial is "more complicated and sensitive" than one single issue.

Dennis, the reigning world champion, was due to ride in his rainbow kit in the Pau stage 13 time trial. Instead, he pulled out midway on stage 12 without him or the team stating a specific reason.

>>> LIVE: Tour de France 2019 stage 13 time trial

"Well, it's an elite sport. Everybody knows that. And you know, we've we see retirements from from this race for a number of different reasons, I think it would be wrong to try and pinpoint just one reason that Rohan withdrew, it's a lot more complicated and a lot more sensitive than that," John Allert, managing director at McLaren Pro Cycling,- one of the team's partners - told Cycling Weekly.

"People have to respect that we want Rohan at his best. There are obviously an accumulation of different factors. I'm not going to go into the detail of any of those factors because we're still seeking to understand those. But if Rohan doesn't feel that he can perform, I have to respect that."

Dennis pulled the plug on his Tour with 84 kilometres to race in Thursday's stage. He hopped in to a soigneur's car, but would not speak to the team's management when they called on the telephone.

Some have speculated that Dennis was mentally tired or that he was unhappy with the bikes and kit ahead of the important team time trial. The 29-year-old left BMC Racing over the winter to join Bahrain-Merida, and this would have been his biggest time trial since joining the team, having won the opening time trial of the Tour de Suisse back in June.

The team ride Merida bikes and use Sportful clothing.

"We're right in that kind of epicentre of the situation now. So we're trying very hard to not jump to easy conclusions. Like I said, it's it's a complicated situation. Elite sport is complicated, the performance in elite sport is complicated. So we need to disentangle a number of different issues," continued Allert.

"Of course, if you've got somebody with the talent to grow, you want to see them on the road, not in the bus. And so we need to understand all of those different variables, understand how we got here and then work out what we do to remedy that to make sure that it can't happen again."

>>> Rohan Dennis says it was the 'right decision to withdraw' from Tour de France but doesn’t give explanation

Dennis joined the team in the hotel last night. He spoke to Allert – who travelled to the Tour specifically for the time trial – the directors and his team-mates including Vincenzo Nibali before leaving for his home in Andorra.

Around midnight local time, the team issued a brief and vague statement from Dennis.

"I am very disappointed to leave the race at this point," he said. "Obviously the individual time trial had been a big goal for me and the team, but given my current feeling it was the right decision to withdraw."

Rohan Dennis said it was “the right decision to withdraw” from the Tour de France but has not offered up a full explanation.

The reigning time trial world champion left his team baffled when he stepped off the bike with 80km left to race of stage 12, refusing to offer an explanation to his sports directors.

Bahrain-Merida bosses said they were “confused and disappointed”, as Dennis had been in phenomenal form and was targeting the only solo time trial of the 2019 the following day.

>>> Five talking points from stage 12 of the Tour de France 2019

In a statement released late on Thursday (July 18), the 29-year-old said: “I am very disappointed to leave the race at this point. Obviously the individual time trial tomorrow had been a big goal for me and the team, but given my current feeling it was the right decision to withdraw earlier today.

“I wish my team-mates the very best for the remainder of the race and would like to thank all the Tour de France fans who cheered for me, at home and on the roadside, since Brussels.

“I will hopefully be back competing in this great race again over the coming seasons.”

Dennis stepped off the bike in the feed zone of stage 12, from Toulouse to Bagnères-de-Bigorre, the first mountain test in the Pyrenees of the Tour de France 2019.

He was taken to the finish by team car and when his sports directors tried to speak with him he said he didn’t want to talk.

Bahrain-Merida released a cryptic statement on social media, which read: “Our priority is the welfare of all our riders so we will launch an immediate investigation but will not be commenting further until we have established what has happened to Rohan Dennis.

“In the meantime, we continue to support our riders who are mid-race.”

As the race continued to unfold, Dennis was seen entering the Bahrain bus at the finish.

Shortly after, he was escorted by his agent to the finish area, but refused to comment on why he had abandoned.

Head sports director at Bahrain-Merida, Gorazd Štangelj, spoke with journalists after the stage but could offer no explanation why Dennis had stepped off.

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Štangelj said Dennis’s form wasn’t the problem, as far as he was aware it wasn’t an issue with equipment, but he was unable to answer if it Dennis’s mental health may have played a part.

Štangelj added: “He’s a special guy, let’s say that. All the champions are. He’s really 100 per cent when he really wants something and it’s difficult to make everyone happy at every single moment.”

“He’s a guy who wants to have everything at 100 per cent and it’s not easy to have everything 100 per cent in the race.”

Bahrain-Merida have been left “confused” and disappointed” after Rohan Dennis abandoned the Tour de France with no explanation.

Australian Dennis stepped off his bike in the feed zone with 80km left to race of stage 12, telling his team he didn’t want to talk when they approached him.

The 29-year-old was taken to the Bahrain bus at the finish by a team car, but management say they still have no idea why he abandoned.

>>> Simon Yates ‘wasn’t confident’ of winning final sprint of Tour de France stage 12

Dennis, the reigning world time trial champion, was a pre-race favourite for the stage 13 TT in Pau, and he has appeared to be in stellar form.

Speaking to a large group of journalists after the stage, head sports director Gorazd Štangelj said: “We’re also confused. I’m disappointed about what happened with Rohan today because we expected the effort from him tomorrow.

“It was his decision to stop today in the feed zone. We tried to speak with him. We stopped the car and tried to find a solution to what’s going on, but he just said ‘I don’t want to talk’ and abandoned the race.”

News Dennis had abandoned broke over halfway through the 209km stage 12, from Toulouse to Bagnères-de-Bigorre, the first mountain test in the Pyrenees of the Tour de France 2019.

Bahrain-Merida released a cryptic statement on social media, which read: “Our priority is the welfare of all our riders so we will launch an immediate investigation but will not be commenting further until we have established what has happened to Rohan Dennis.

“In the meantime, we continue to support our riders who are mid-race.”

As the race continued to unfold, Dennis was seen entering the Bahrain bus at the finish.

Shortly after, he was escorted by his agent to the finish area, but refused to comment on why he had abandoned.

Štangelj said: “When we got to the feed zone, we saw his bike behind our feed zone car, but it was too late for us to stop and because we were on the parcours I couldn’t turn and go back. We called the car at the feed zone and asked for Rohan to come on the phone, but he said he didn’t want to talk right now.”

When asked by journalists if Dennis’s form was the problem, Štangelj said “I think his condition is good enough to perform in the Tour de France,” adding “For sure it’s nothing to do with his physical condition.”

Štangelj said he had told Dennis to save his energy for Friday’s time trial during the stage, so it wasn’t anything to do with his role in the race.

The sports director was also asked if it was a problem with his mental health, to which Štangelj responded “It’s difficult to answer this question, but I’ve never had a hard discussion with him. We’ve always managed to find a solution when it was needed.”

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He was also asked if Dennis was unhappy with his bike or equipment, but Štangelj said as far as he knew this was not the reason.

Štangelj added: “He’s a special guy, let’s say that. All the champions are. He’s really 100 per cent when he really wants something and it’s difficult to make everyone happy at every single moment.”

“He’s a guy who wants to have everything at 100 per cent and it’s not easy to have everything 100 per cent in the race."

He concluded: “It’s too early to talk about consequences. Now is the moment to clear things and make decisions for the future.”

Rohan Dennis (Bahrain-Merida) won the opening stage one time trial of the 2019 Tour de Suisse to take the overall race lead, beating Maciej Bodnar (Bora-Hansgrohe) by fractions of a second.

After Dennis had completed the 9.5km course in 10-50, Michael Matthews (Sunweb) came across the finish line one second slower, finishing third, with the two Danes Søren Kragh Andersen (Sunweb) and Kasper Asgreen (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) two seconds back and finishing fourth and fifth respectively.

Tour de France 2018 lanterne rouge Lawson Craddock (EF Education) was five seconds back in sixth place, followed by Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) in seventh, seven seconds back.

Geraint Thomas (Ineos) was the best of the GC contenders, finishing in 13th place and 17 seconds down on Dennis' time, with his compatriot and team-mate Owain Doull just two seconds further back, finishing in 18th place.

Egan Bernal (Ineos) marked his return to racing with a strong ride, finishing 23 seconds down on the time trial world champion, and the Ineos pair have given themselves a good head start on their rivals for the overall classification.

Marc Soler (Movistar) 29 seconds off the best time, Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates) finishing 37 seconds down on Dennis, Enric Mas (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) 43 seconds back, whilst Wilco Kelderman (Jumbo-Visma) posted the seventh worst time of the day, 1-28 off the pace of the Australian.

The flat 9.5km time trial will be followed by a circuit race on stage two, still in Langnau im Emmental where stage one's race against the clock was held, with the peloton set to scale the two second category climbs of the Schallenberg and the Chuderhüsi Pass three times along the 159.6km route.

Results

Tour de Suisse 2019, stage one: Langnau im Emmental to Langnau im Emmental (9.5km)

1. Rohan Dennis (Aus) Bahrain-Merida, in 10-50

2. Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe, at same time

3. Michael Matthews (Aus) Sunweb, in one second

4. Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Sunweb, in 2s

5. Kasper Asgreen (Den) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at same time

6. Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education First, at 5s

7. Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 7s

8. Patrick Bevin (Nzl) CCC, at 8s

9. Stefan Küng (Sui) Groupama-FDJ, at 9s

10. Tom Scully (Nzl) EF Education First, at 11s

General classification after stage one

1. Rohan Dennis (Aus) Bahrain-Merida, in 10-50

2. Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe, at same time

3. Michael Matthews (Aus) Sunweb, in one second

4. Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Sunweb, in 2s

5. Kasper Asgreen (Den) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at same time

6. Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education First, at 5s

7. Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 7s

8. Patrick Bevin (Nzl) CCC, at 8s

9. Stefan Küng (Sui) Groupama-FDJ, at 9s

10. Tom Scully (Nzl) EF Education First, at 11s

Australian Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing) took confidence in the World Championship time trial from knowing Tom Dumoulin's power numbers.

Dennis powered through the course to hold off the charge from Team Sunweb's Dutchman behind trying to defend his title.

Dumoulin clocked a time 1-21 minutes slower over 52.5 kilometres.

"It's an amazing feeling," Dennis said.

"I've been coached from the car by [team coach] Brad McGee. He kept me calm. Knowing Tom Dumoulin's watts during the team time trial made me confident that I'd beat him but I didn't want to be sure until I'd crossed the line."

>>>UCI Road World Championships 2018: dates, route, where to watch and more

Dennis' confidence even had him considering a victory salute, but the former hour record holder did not want to ruin his first shot at a rainbow jersey.

"It's a dream come true to be the world champion. I've been chasing this since I was a junior... I've never won it in any age group. I'll enjoy the next year in the rainbow jersey for sure."

Dennis, who signed for team Bahrain-Merida for this coming 2019 season, wore the pink jersey in May after finishing second to Dumoulin in the Giro's opening time trial and taking time bonuses in the second stage.

Ahead of Tony Martin (Katusha-Alpecin) and Dumoulin, he won the Giro's long time trial.

In the Vuelta a España, he won both time trials.

The opening day gave him the leader's red jersey and the long time trial win in stage 16 gave him a good confidence boost. He abandoned the race that night to prepare specifically for the Worlds.

The Australian team estimated Dumoulin's power based on the team time trial on Sunday. Quick-Step won ahead of Sunweb and BMC.

"I knew the power that we rode in the team time trial. We lost 19 seconds and I held higher power up the hill than I did in the team time trial," Dennis said.

"I knew that Tom rode the front of the team time trial and he was pushing pretty hard so I had a fairly good idea of what power I needed to hold. I think I was 35 seconds in front at the bottom and when I got to the top, I was fairly confident that I had at least done the same time as him."

Dumoulin completed a grand slam of sorts. The second place silver medal matched the runner-up spots he had in the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France.

"I am still second, but I was far away from my top level," Dumoulin told NOS television.

"I was unsuccessful on the bike. I tried to get my power from everywhere except it wasn't in the right way. My whole body cramped.

"I could not get off my bike. I have a block for a head, that's why it worked. I just wanted it so much so I can push myself to great highs.

"I can only win against Dennis, though, if I am in top shape. The top form was not there today."

Rohan Dennis (Australia) won the UCI World Championships elite men's time trial, taking a staggering 81 seconds out of defending champion Tom Dumoulin of the Netherlands.

Dennis did away with the testing 52.5 kilometre course in Innsbruck in 1 hour 3 minutes 2 seconds, to earn ownership of the rainbow striped skinsuit for the year ahead.

His average speed of 49.6kph saw him pass two riders over the testing Austrian parcours, which included a 4.4km climb with peaks as steep as 14 per cent.

Dumoulin took the silver medal position, by a painstakingly slim margin of half a second, with european champion Victor Campenaerts completing the podium.

>>> UCI Road World Championships 2018: dates, route, where to watch and more

The best British rider was Alex Dowsett, 5-24 down on the new world champion in 29th, with 23-year Tao Geoghegan Hart 6-03 slower, taking 35th place.

How it happened

The course was the antithesis to a traditional test against the clock, its crowning feature a vicious climb with just 20km to go. The testing ascent was 4.4km long, with an average gradient of 7.1 per cent.

What goes up must come down, and the mountain feature of the TT was followed by a technical descent - before a rolling 7km to the finish.

The front runners for were Dutch defending champion, Tom Dumoulin, and Australian Rohan Dennis - the 28-year-old who won the 34.2km time trial stage at the Giro d'Italia ahead of Tony Martin (Katusha-Alpecin) and the world champion.

>>> Tom Dumoulin: ‘On paper, the World Championships time trial is a battle between me and Rohan Dennis’

The checkpoints came at 16.6km, when riders were still on the flat part of the course, and at 35.2km - at the top of the climb.

The fastest of the early starters was Wilco Kelderman, the Dutch rider setting a benchmark of 1-07-23, with an average speed of 46km/h - winning him a place in the hotseat. It was Czech rider Jan Bárta who knocked him off the post, with Martin Toft Madsen (Netherlands) bettering them both at 1-06-25.

However, it became clear that with specialists like Tony Martin (Germany) and Campenaerts joining the course, plus the favourites Dennis and Dumoulin, that times were set to fall.

Once all of the riders were through the first check point, Dennis had the advantage - reaching the marker at 17-58. Dumoulin was 8s slower, with Martin at 14s and Campenaerts at 15s.

>>>

Madsen remained in the hotseat - but with his own 16.6km time check having been 18-45, it seemed unlikely that he'd remain in place.

Giro d'Italia general classification winner Dumoulin was expected to make up time on time trial expert Dennis on the climb, but when each had crested the ascent, Dennis had a time of 45-22, with the rainbow skinsuit of the Dutchman a full minute and one second back.

Campenaerts was next, 1-12 back with Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) in fourth, 1-43 slower than the virtual leader.

Madsen was finally shifted out of the hotseat, with Parick Bevan (New Zealand) ousting him, followed by Nelson Oliveira in 1-5-16 whilst Martin later sandwiched between them to place second at the time.

None of them could stay seated for long - Kwiatkowski's time of 1-050-06 was bettered by that of Campenaerts, who clocked 1-04-14.

Dennis, however, was showing no signs of slowing down - his churning legs powering him to the line in 1-03-02 - well over a minute up on the man he shifted from the centre stage in the waiting area.

Meanwhile Dumoulin's advantage over Campenaerts  was slipping, leaving his silver medal in doubt right up to the line, where he crossed a mere 0.53 seconds ahead of the Belgian.

Results

UCI World Championships elite men’s time trial (52.5km)

1. Rohan Dennis (AUS), in 1-03-02

2. Tom Dumoulin (NED), at 1-21-09

3. Victor Campenaerts (BEL), at 1-21-62

4. Michal Kwiatkowski (POL), at 2-04

5. Nelson Oliveira (POR), at 2-14

6. Jonathan Castroviejo (ESP), at 2-17

7. Tony Martin (GER), at 2-25

8. Patrick Bevin (NZL), at 2-34

9. Vasil Kiryienka (BLR), at 3-07

10. Martin Toft Madsen (DEN), at 3-23

BMC's Rohan Dennis came and conquered the Vuelta a España but is leaving the race after his second time trial win to focus on the World Championships.

Dennis won the opening time trial to take the red leader's jersey in Spain and won again two weeks later in Torrelavega, beating team-mate Joey Rosskopf.

Now, the Australia is dropping out of the race with the Worlds on the horizon.

"I'm heading home now," Dennis said after the win. "I'm just preparing for the time trial and team time trial at worlds."

Normally, riders do not announce they are leaving a stage race unless they are sick or injured, but Dennis is able to speak his mind without any filters.

"There's no Madrid for me," added Dennis.

Dennis broke the hour record in 2015 and held it until Bradley Wiggins did so months later. He has yet to break the top three in the elite men's time trail at the World Championships.

After the team time trial, taking a gold medal on the Innsbruck course will be Dennis's major goal. It also sees him riding out his chapter with BMC.

Dennis will take part in the team time trail, the time trial in Australian colours and the road race to help Richie Porte, and ride a few Italian races back in BMC's red and black colours.

"I got two big results for my team, the prologue and this time trial, after 14 days of suffering in between. The chapter is still going. I'm proud to win this," Dennis said.

"I've still got the team time trial and the time trial at the Worlds, one in BMC colours and I'll be on a BMC bike until December 31st. Hopefully I can end it well."

Dennis will join team Bahrain-Merida in 2019 along with team-mate Dylan Teuns.

The Vuelta organiser is still celebrating Dennis's win while he heads home. He will be considered in the Vuelta peloton until he does not take the stage 17 start line in Getxo tomorrow for the Basque mountain stage.

Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing) won the opening time trial of the 2018 Vuelta a España in Malaga, beating Michal Kwiatkowski to the stage victory and the overall lead.

The Australian champion blitzed the 8km course at over 49.6kph, well up on Kwiatkowski at the intermediate check before driving the pace to finish six seconds up on the Pole.

It adds a Vuelta stage win to Dennis' palmarès, meaning he has now won a stage in each of the three Grand Tours, having completed the set of leaders' jerseys with the stage win and the pink jersey after opening time trial of the 2018 Giro d'Italia.

Among the GC contenders, most of them remain clustered fairly close together, with Kwiatkowski holding the most advantage after the first day.

Dennis' team-mate Richie Porte, a hotly tipped favourite ahead of the race, was probably the worst off as he finished 51 seconds down meaning he already has a chunk of time to overcome if he wants to win the race overall. Last year's runner-up Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) also finished with a disappointing time, 40 seconds behind the winner.

How it happened

Jorge Cubero (Burgos BH) was the first rider down the start ramp in Malaga for the 2018 Vuelta a España, however the first real benchmark for the 8km time trial came from Sebastian Langeveld (EF Education First-Drapac) who rode into the lead with a time of 10-04.

The first major GC contender to set off was Richie Porte, who looked to be off the pace with a time of 10-26.

The next man out after Porte, Dylan van Baarle (Team Sky), would have a long stint in the hot seat, after he set a blistering time of 9-59, the only rider to break the 10 minute mark until he was beaten almost an hour later.

A number of riders had come close to van Baarle's time, including Alessandro De Marchi (BMC Racing) who finished just a second behind, with his team-mate Dylan Teuns and Fabio Felline (Trek-Segafredo) a further second back.

The man to finally beat the Dutchman was Nelson Oliveira (Movistar), who was able to set the new best time by three seconds over van Baarle, with a time of 9-56.

With some more elite time triallists taking to the course in the latter part of the race, Oliveira's time looked severely under threat. And it didn't take too long before it was eclipsed, with former Polish champion Michal Kwiatkowski coming through in a time of 9-45, 11 seconds quicker.

European champion Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Soudal) was the next rider to come close to the lead, with the Belgian giving it his all in the final 100m but ultimately coming up short by one second at 9-46.

The big favourite for victory was then shortly after out on the course, with Rohan Dennis looking like he was living up to his billing as he went five seconds quicker than Kwiatkowski at the 4.8km mark.

The Australian continued to increase the pace, and eventually crossed the finish line six seconds faster than Kwiatkowski to take the win and the red jersey with just David de la Cruz (Team Sky), Nario Quintana (Movistar) and Vincenzo Nibali left out on the course and all well off the pace.

Nibali and Quintana finished at 40 and 30 seconds down respectively, while Britain's Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) will be pleased to finish 29 seconds down.

Potential GC contenders Ion Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) and Wilco Kelderman (Sunweb) will both be satisfied with their efforts on the short time trial, finishing inside the top-10 at 22 seconds.

The Vuelta continues on Sunday with stage two with a 163.5km stage from Marbella to Caminito del Rey.

Results

Vuelta a España 2018, stage one: Malaga (8km ITT)

1 Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team, in 9-39-81

2 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky, at 6s

3 Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Lotto Soudal, at 7s

4 Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team, at 17s

5 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Sky, at 20s

6 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team, at 21s

7 Jonathan Castroviejo (Esp) Team

8 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Sunweb, all at same time

9 Ion Izagirre (Esp) Bahrain-Merida, at 22s

10 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb, at 22s

Overall classification after stage one

1 Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team, in 9-39-81

2 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky, at 6s

3 Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Lotto Soudal, at 7s

4 Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team, at 17s

5 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Sky, at 20s

6 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team, at 21s

7 Jonathan Castroviejo (Esp) Team

8 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Sunweb, all at same time

9 Ion Izagirre (Esp) Bahrain-Merida, at 22s

10 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb, at 22s

Bahrain-Merida have confirmed they have signed Rohan Dennis on a two-year contract from BMC Racing.

Dennis was strongly rumoured to be leaving BMC for Bahrain, having spent four and a half seasons with the American team.

The Australian joined BMC in an unusual mid-season transfer from Garmin-Sharp in 2014.

>>> Cycling transfers 2019: All the ins and outs from the WorldTour

Since then, Dennis has gone on to take his best professional results. He won his first WorldTour overall title at the Tour Down Under in 2015, before taking victory and the yellow jersey on the stage one time trial of the 2015 Tour de France in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

The 28-year-old has worn the leader's jersey in all three Grand Tours, completing the hat-trick this year after taking pink at the Giro d'Italia on stage two. A BMC win in the opening team time trial of 2017 Vuelta a España gave him a single day stint in the red jersey.

One of the world's best time triallists, Dennis has tried to switch focus towards general classification results at Grand Tours, but has so far scored a best result of 16th overall at this year's Giro.

Bahrain-Merida believe that Dennis's future still lies in Grand Tours, and add him to their roster which include four-time Grand Tour winner Vincenzo Nibali.

“Making this announcement makes us all very proud," said team manager Brent Copeland.

"Rohan adds a great value to the team, not only as one of the world best time triallist, but we believe his ability to race in the general classification of Grand Tours is where we want to invest in and we are all very excited to be able to work together.

"Rohan is a true professional in all areas and we feel his professional mentality fits our team perfectly. His enthusiasm and exciting way of racing will definitely bring something special to the team. We welcome him and we’re excited to be able to support him through all his success he deserves with us.”

“I am extremely excited to be joining Bahrain Merida for the next two years," Dennis said.

"The organisation has been upfront and honest about their plans and objectives for me the entire time, which is really positive. As I know, we are working towards the same goals.

"I’m looking forward to working with a team that is going to invest in my future and I am very keen to see what we can achieve together.

"I would like to thank all at BMC for a great past four years where I felt I made good progress in my career and I can’t wait to continue that progress with Bahrain Merida.”

Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing) won the stage 16 time trial at the Giro d'Italia, while Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) held on to his overall lead by 56 seconds.

Tony Martin (Katusha-Alpecin) had set an imperious time of 40-14 over the 34.2km course, but the German had to settle for second place ultimately with Dennis blasting fastest through both intermediate time checks and continued that to the finish with a time of 40 minutes dead.

Race leader Yates put in a very respectable time of 41-37 in his least favoured discipline, finishing 1-15 back on Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) who took third place on the stage.

The Briton will now head into the final five stages with a 56 second lead over Dumoulin having led with a 2-11 gap at the start of the day, with three difficult summit finishes to come.

How it happened

With the race really waiting to hot up later in the day with the GC riders taking to the course, there were a number of time trial riders out early to try and set a time.

Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) was the first to set a proper benchmark of 41-04, but with a tailwind out on the course that was unlikely to stand for very long.

Pedersen's team-mate Ryan Mullen was the next to come close, but the Irish champion will ultimately be disappointed with his ride after suffering cramp in the final 10km and clocking a time five seconds slower than his Danish team-mate.

Not too long after the race really began to change hands between potential stage winners. First Alex Dowsett (Katusha-Alpecin) came in with a decent time of 40-40 to take the lead, but that was beaten shortly after by Jos Van Emden (LottoNL-Jumbo), who went 13 seconds quicker.

The Dutchman didn't have long in the hot seat either before Dowsett's team-mate Tony Martin came in with a new best time, with the four-time world champion clocking in at 40-14.

Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates), who fell well out of contention in the GC after last weekend's mountain stages, put in an astonishing ride to finish ahead of Dowsett and temporarily on the podium with a time of 40-37 (although was later docked 20 seconds by commissaires for drafting).

Martin's benchmark still comfortably withstood any challengers at this point, but things weren't looking great for the German with Rohan Dennis taking the fastest time through both the time checks on the course.

The Australian champion was able to hold that pace to the finish, putting in a storming time of 40 minutes flat, averaging 51.3kmh throughout the ride.

It was then on to the GC riders to begin coming in. Chris Froome (Team Sky), over four minutes down on Yates, put in a decent ride to finish 35 seconds down on Dennis, pushing him to fourth overall with Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) shedding over three minutes and Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) well over two. Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain-Merida) shed more than two minutes as well, but maintains third place overall by 39 seconds over Froome.

World champion Dumoulin didn't look to be having his best time trial, but still clocked 19 seconds down on Dennis through the second time check. Meanwhile, Simon Yates was losing time as the course went on, clocking 38 seconds down on the leader through the first time check, before dropping to 1-07 (and 48 seconds off Dumoulin) at the second check.

Yates knew he'd be losing time to Dumoulin on the stage, but still had a decent buffer to maintain his maglia rosa heading into the final kilometre of the course.

Eventually Yates crossed the line comfortably inside the time to keep pink, but heads into the final road stages of the Giro with less than a minute over Dumoulin.

The Giro d'Italia continues on Wednesday with a 155km stage from Riva del Garda to Iseo.

Results

Giro d'Italia 2018, stage 16: Trento to Rovereto (34.2km)

1 Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team, in 40-00

2 Tony Martin (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin, at 14s

3 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb, at 22s

4 Jos van Emden (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo, at 27s

5 Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky, at 35s

6 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Katusha-Alpecin, at 40s

7 Chad Haga (USA) Team Sunweb, at 47s

8 Fabio Aru (Ita) UAE Team Emirates, at 57s

9 David De La Cruz (Esp) Team Sky, at 1-01

10 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Team Sky, at 1-04

Overall classification after stage 16

1 Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott, in 65-57-37

2 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb, at 56s

3 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Bahrain-Merida, at 3-11

4 Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky, at 3-50

5 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, at 4-19

6 Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team, at 5-04

7 Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team, at 5-37

8 Pello Bilbao (Esp) Astana Pro Team, at 6-02

9 Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Movistar Team, at 6-07

10 George Bennett (NZl) LottoNL-Jumbo, at 7-01

Australian Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing) is "honoured" to complete the Grand Tour set of leader's jerseys, adding the Giro d'Italia's pink top in the Tel Aviv stage two.

Dennis just missed out on winning the stage one time trial in Jerusalem, seeing Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) top him by two seconds. On Saturday, he sprinted for the intermediate line and took three seconds to overhaul Dumoulin.

Now, with three others, he counts the pink, the yellow jersey from the Tour de France and the red jersey from the Vuelta a España.

"It's an honour to be such a small group of active riders, but I didn't think it was going to happen when I first started racing," the 27-year-old said.

"I thought if I ever do, it'd be huge. I hoped it'd be later in my career, and I hope my career doesn't end soon! It is an honour though."

Dennis joins three other active riders in the peloton to have worn all three leader's jerseys: Vincenzo Nibali, Fabio Aru and Mark Cavendish.

"It is special," he added. "I hoped it'd happen one day, I hope too that this is not the last time to wear one though, it'd be great to wear more of them."

The former Hour Record holder won the time trial to kick off the 2015 Tour de France in Utrecht. He wore the famous yellow top for one day. In the 2017 Vuelta, he had it for one day after BMC Racing won the opening team time trial.

"It's different here in the Giro d'Italia. The yellow jersey was from an individual TT, but this was special in its own right. I wouldn't be here without the team," said Dennis.

"In the Tour de France, there as a team behind the scenes with mechanics and directors, doing the work for me to produce that ride."

Dennis faces one more day in Israel before, to Eilat, before a rest day and transfer to Sicily. There, the race becomes even harder with technical stages and a summit finish to Mount Etna, stage six.

"I hope to keep it as long as possible. It'd be really special to take it into Italy," Dennis said. "Tomorrow is the initial goal, to keep it tomorrow, and then wearing it in Sicily would be more special because it's an Italian race. The Italians will appreciate the jersey in BMC."

He explained that he will race as high as possible in the overall in 2018, but that this is part of his and BMC Racing's learning process to develop him into a grand tour rider for 2019.

"I'm trying not to put much pressure on, saying where I want to come or if it's a top five, 10 or 20, it's more of the process and getting to the finish in Rome in one piece," Dennis added.

"I haven't had much luck lately with grand tours. Also testing my legs in the third week is a big goal of mine and my coaches and seeing the work we've done and if it's appropriate for me in a grand tour, that's the big goal over the next three weeks."

Nicolas Roche will mark a return to the Giro d’Italia from Friday as a self-purported “Plan B” with BMC Racing that has purposefully disrupted the Irishman’s race schedule this season.

In his 14th year as a professional, Roche has a general story that is well documented.

>>> Giro d’Italia 2018: Seven key stages that will decide the race

He’s the son of a famous cyclist who, despite spending almost every day of his childhood competing in other sports, eventually followed in his father’s footsteps.

Turning professional with Cofidis, the year after the French team was embroiled in a doping scandal, Roche has literally ridden through cultural and generational change.

“They [Cofidis] had that troubled year in 2004 and there was a lot new things - internal tests - that came in 2005 as a consequence,” he recalls.

“I arrived in this professional world and my first training camp I do all these DNA tests, get my hair cut to see if I was on the party drugs, physical tests too, see a psychologist three times a year.

“It’s not easy seeing a psychologist at 20 when you think you’re perfectly healthy.”

Fast-forward through nine professional victories including two Vuelta a España stage wins, consistent stints as road captain, Grand Tour domestique to now and the 33-year-old is still learning and learning to adapt.

The peloton is more competitive, younger riders take risks that Roche now considers “painful”, and top-15 results don’t guarantee job security.

As RCS Sport charters new territory, taking the Giro to Israel and outside of Europe for the first time, so too will Roche in his career 19th Grand Tour.

The climber in the past has eased into typically long seasons with a view to the Tour de France and Vuelta a España, so was initially reluctant about being called to compete first and maybe foremost at the Giro, which his father, Stephen won in 1987.

“There was no conversation, I got a phone call saying you’re riding the Giro. The first reaction was, ‘Oh,’ and then second reaction was, ‘That’s alright, I’ll prepare for the Giro,’” Roche says.

“I haven’t ridden the Giro in a while but I haven’t ridden the Giro for GC more importantly, so it’s new for me to aim for a race so early in the year.

“In both cases I know it will be good for later on in the year anyway. As in, if I ride the Tour, I know I can perfectly ride the Giro and the Tour and be stronger again. If not, I’ll ride the Vuelta afterwards and know I have a good base to go into that.”

Roche last competed at the Giro with Sky in 2016 where he finished 24th overall. He has flagged a top-10 as an ideal result ahead of the 101st edition in which he’ll pair with eager Australian Rohan Dennis.

“I’m on him this year a little bit,” says BMC Racing sports director Max Sciandri.

“I get on really well with Nico. There are a lot of variables in his character, how he is.

“Before proving something to the team, I think it will be a good thing if he proves something to himself. At this point in his career, it would be good to get a result. That’s what he has in the Giro, a possibility to go for that.”

Dennis, who is a favourite for the opening time trial stage in Israel, arrives on different terms as he makes concerted efforts and advances toward a career as a Grand Tour contender.

“I am going to keep the two guys simple, separate,” Sciandri says.

“I don’t like to work with big lead-outs, like [Chris] Froome has his whole team lined out, or like Richie [Porte] will in the Tour. I keep it low-key in a way that I sign a couple of people to riders, so Rohan will have one or two guys, Nico will have one or two, and after five or six stages we’ll have Etna.”

The general tactical approach should suit Roche’s sensibilities.

“At the end of the day nothing beats your own victory but I get a lot of satisfaction from playing a part in the race. I don’t like sitting in the bunch and waiting to get dropped,” he says.

“A lot of the riders, or the teams, are like that but fair enough. The way modern cycling is now it’s more about following as long as you can than trying to do something.

“Don’t be surprised, you’re watching us on TV, you know that,” he adds with authority.

“It’s big teams that put their tempo down and play their cards. It doesn’t mean they win the race but tactically now it’s about following the strongest team.”

How BMC plays it remains to be seen.

Australian Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing) won the Abu Dhabi Tour's individual time trial stage on Saturday, and moved into the overall race lead.

Dennis navigated around the flat 12.6km course starting and finishing on Al Maryah Island with a time of 14 minutes and 21 seconds.

Dennis's time put him in a class of his own, with second-placed Jonathan Castroviejo marking his Team Sky WorldTour time trial debut at 14 seconds adrift of Dennis.

BMC's collective time trial ability was once again proven with Miles Scotson placing third, Brent Bookwalter in sixth and Patrick Bevin in eighth.

>>> Abu Dhabi Tour 2018: Latest news, reports and race info

Former British time trial champion Alex Dowsett (Katusha-Alpecin) placed 10th, 29 seconds behind Dennis.

Disaster struck for time trial world champion Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) who suffered a mechanical issue on his run and was left standing at the roadside for a new bike. The Dutchman was visibly disappointed at his predicament in what should have been one of his key form markers ahead of his defence of the Giro d'Italia title in May.

Race leader Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) was predictably off the pace during the time trial, and lost the red leader's jersey to Dennis. Dennis now sits at the top of the general classification ahead of Castroviejo, with Scotson in third.

The 2018 Abu Dhabi Tour concludes on Sunday with stage five, a long 199-kilometre trip from Qasr Al Muwaiji to the decisive summit finish of Jebel Hafeet.

It will be a chance for the climbers to make their mark on the race and give the general classification one final shake up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KRFsDEtl_s

Results

Abu Dhabi Tour 2018, stage four: Al Maryah Island to Al Maryah Island, 12.6km

1. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing, in 14-21

2. Jonathan Castroviejo (Esp) Team Sky, at 14 secs

3. Miles Scotson (Aus) BMC Racing, at 16 secs

4. Jos van Emden (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo, at 16 secs

5. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb, at 16 secs

6. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing, at 17 secs

7. Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Sunweb, at 22 secs

8. Patrick Bevin (NZl) BMC Racing, at 23 secs

9. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar, at 27 secs

10. Alex Dowsett (GBr) Katusha-Alpecin, at 29 secs

General classification after stage four

1. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing, in 11-21-10

2. Jonathan Castroviejo (Esp) Team Sky, at 14 secs

3. Miles Scotson (Aus) BMC Racing, at 16 secs

4. Jos van Emden (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo, at 16 secs

5. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb, at 16 secs

6. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing, at 17 secs

7. Patrick Bevin (NZl) BMC Racing, at 23 secs

8. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar, at 24 secs

9. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb, at 31 secs

10. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors, at 34 secs

Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing) looks at Bradley Wiggins and Tom Dumoulin for inspiration for his 2018 season. Both are time triallists who have won Grand Tours, an achievement that the 27-year-old Australian hopes to emulate.

Dennis is entering the second year of a four-year plan to develop into a Grand Tour cyclist. On his list for 2018 is racing the Giro d'Italia and facing Chris Froome (Sky).

"What inspired me in the Giro d'Italia in 2017 was not what I did or didn't do, but how Dumoulin raced and how inspired it was," Dennis said at a BMC Racing Team camp. "He raced physically and mentally, and he stayed positive no matter what happened in the stage.

>>> This BMC Racing line-up will be hard to beat at the Tour Down Under

"They lost Wilco Kelderman in stage nine with the motorcycle. They all regrouped and worked it out. We can joke about it now, but the toilet incident... I thought he lost the Giro that day, but he didn't it. He kept his head on and fought all by himself with no help.

"Inspiring for me? Yeah. We are similar riders, he's tried to become a GC rider a couple years before me. It gives me confidence. Wiggins, as well. A pure time trial rider who is able to be a Tour de France champion and world champion time triallist. It's possible for the type of rider I am to be good in the Grand Tours."

Dennis helped Australia to silver at the 2012 London Olympics behind Great Britain's gold medal ride in the team pursuit with Wiggins. He set the Hour Record before Wiggins. And won the opening time trial in the Tour de France to wear the yellow jersey. However, much remains to accomplish.

Watch: Giro d'Italia 2017 stage 21 highlights

"To be able to put out that power that I can do in a TT in the fourth or fifth hour of a stage. I've got some work to do on that front," he continued.

"Weight is obviously a factor, but if you lose too much weight and you get sick, or you lose your power, then that's an issue. The main thing is building up your strength so your threshold doesn't fade too much after four to five hours, but remains similar from the first hour to the fifth. That's a big factor in becoming a GC rider for three weeks. You get tested in one-week races, but going into the third week is a different beast.

"This is one of four years that I've set out to target to become a GC riders, I keep saying that if it doesn't work out after four years, then that's fine, I'll go back to what I know I'm really good at, time trialling and one-week week tours. Hopefully, I can pick up at least one, or more world titles in the time trial, but once again, the GC, I don't care what Grand Tour it is."

>>> BMC Racing win opening stage of Vuelta a España 2017 as Rohan Dennis takes red jersey

This year, BMC Racing's Grand Tour schedule sends Dennis with leadership support to the Giro d'Italia and Richie Porte back to the Tour de France.

In 2017, Dennis crashed in stage three and pulled out the next day. Dumoulin used the two big time trials and a mountain defence to become the first Dutchman to win the Italian race. For 2018, cycling's top star Froome arrives for a chance at the gold spiral trophy.

"I can understand why he is. Being the winner of the Tour and Vuelta, he doesn't want to be known just as Tour champion and I think that he wants to have all three. For him, it could be interesting to see how he is going in the Tour after the Giro."

BMC Racing emerged victorious from the opening team time trial of the 2017 Vuelta a España as Rohan Dennis took the first leader's red jersey of the race.

The American team looked smooth throughout the technical 13.7km course, avoiding any crashes which affected a number of other teams.

>>> Five talking points from stage one of the Vuelta a España

BMC Racing were the only team to go under 16 minutes, with Rohan Dennis leading them across the line in a time that was six seconds faster than Quick-Step Floors.

As for the GC contenders, there were few major gaps, with Chris Froome and Team Sky losing just nine seconds. Fabio Aru was the only red jersey contender to lose significant time, as Astana finished in 16th place, 41 seconds behind BMC.

How it happened

The 2017 Vuelta a España started with Colombian Professional Continental team Manzana Postobon rolling down the red start ramp in the centre of the French city of Nîmes.

The second division team consisting largely of climbers were never going to set the team time trial alight, crossing the line in a time of 16-51, a benchmark which only lasted until the next team, Lotto-Soudal, finished a few minutes later in 16-22.

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That time stood for a long time, holding off the likes of Aqua Blue Sport and FDJ, before Bora-Hansgrohe went three seconds faster, team leader Rafal Majka leading them across the line.

However Bora's best time lasted for less than ten minutes as Team Sunweb went faster. The German team set the fastest time at the intermediate split and got even faster through the second half of the course to finish in a time of 16-04.

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The next major team to cross the line was the three-time and defending team time trial world champions Quick-Step Floors. Only three of the six riders who won gold in Qatar in 2016 were on the start line in Nîmes, but that was no problem for such a well-drilled squad, who eventually crossed the line less than a second faster than Sunweb.

BMC Racing were on a flyer as they approached the finish with six riders remaining. The American team went six seconds faster than Quick-Step Floors, Rohan Dennis leading them across the line.

BMC Racing were the first team to go under 16 minutes, and with only a handful of teams to finish, that time was going to take some beating. One team that has form in team time trials is Orica-Scott, however the Australian team were unable to challenge, coming home 17 seconds down.

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Movistar couldn't challenge either, and neither could Team Sky who crossed the line nine seconds behind BMC Racing to put Chris Froome in an ideal position in GC.

The final team to cross the line were Trek-Segafredo, who looked ragged as they became split up in the final stage, eventually finishing outside the top 10.

That meant that the stage win went to BMC Racing, with Dennis taking the leader's red jersey into Sunday's 203.4km stage from Nîmes to Gruissan.

Results

Vuelta a España 2017, stage one: Nîmes to Nîmes (TTT), 13.7km

1. BMC Racing, in 15-58

2. Quick Step-Floors, at 6 secs

3. Team Sunweb, at 6 secs

4. Team Sky, at 9 secs

5. Orica-Scott, at 17 secs

6. Bora-Hansgrohe, at 21 secs

7. Lotto-Soudal, at 24 secs

8. Movistar, at 24 secs

9. Bahrain-Merida, at 31 secs

10. Katusha-Alpecin, at 33 secs

General classification after stage one

1. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing, in 15-58