Rohan Dennis
Rohan Dennis (born 28 May 1990) is an Australian professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Team Jumbo–Visma. Dennis was born, raised, and resides in Adelaide, Australia. He won back to back UCI men's individual time trial world championships in 2018 and 2019.
Career
Early career
Dennis began his career by focusing on the track, and was part of the Australian team that took the silver medals in the team pursuit at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Garmin–Sharp (2013–14)
He joined Garmin–Sharp for the 2013 season, and made his debut at the Tour de France, pulling out of the race before Stage 9.
In 2014, Dennis finished second overall behind Bradley Wiggins at the Tour of California, after placing second to Wiggins in the time trial. He also placed second in the Commonwealth Games time trial behind England's Alex Dowsett.
BMC Racing Team (2014–18)
In August 2014, Dennis made a rare mid-season transfer to the BMC Racing Team. He went on to win the World team time trial championships with his new team.
On 8 February 2015, he set a new hour record of 52.491 kilometres (32.616 miles), beating Matthias Brändle's record by over 600 metres. The record stood until 2 May 2015, when it was broken by Dowsett. Dennis was selected to ride the Tour de France as part of the BMC Racing Team squad supporting Tejay van Garderen. He won stage one's individual time trial, clocking an average speed of 55.446 km/h (34.5 mph) and became the first yellow jersey wearer of the Tour. With this performance, he established a new record average speed for an individual time trial at the Tour de France. He won the Sir Hubert Opperman medal and trophy for Australia's best all-round cyclist in 2015.
He was named in the start list for the 2017 Giro d'Italia, however he abandoned the race on the 4th stage after injuries due to a crash on stage 2. Subsequently, at the 2017 Vuelta a España, Dennis crossed the line first as part of the BMC squad that won the race's opening team time trial, taking the race leader's red jersey and becoming the first Australian to lead the race since Michael Matthews in 2014.
At the 2018 Giro d'Italia, Dennis was narrowly defeated in the opening time trial by Tom Dumoulin. However, he took the pink jersey on the second stage by picking up a time bonus in an intermediate sprint. In doing so, he became the first Australian to lead the Giro since Simon Clarke in 2015, and the third Australian to wear the leader's jersey in all three Grand Tours, after Bradley McGee and Cadel Evans. He went on to win the stage 16 time trial and finished the race in 16th place overall, 56 minutes and 7 seconds down on winner Chris Froome.
When he won the first stage at the 2018 Vuelta a España he became the 95th rider in history to have won at least one stage in all three Grand Tours, and the 15th rider to have won an individual time trial at each Grand Tour. He went on to win the stage 16 time trial, and left the Vuelta immediately after to prepare for the World Championships in Innsbruck, winning the individual time trial title by over a minute ahead of defending champion Tom Dumoulin of the Netherlands. He also helped his BMC team win the bronze medal in the team time trial event.
At the end of 2018, he won two major Australian awards: Australian Institute of Sport Performance Awards – Male Athlete of the Year and Cycling Australia's Sir Hubert Opperman Medal, which he had previously won in 2015.
Bahrain–Merida (2019)
In August 2018, it was announced that Dennis would join Bahrain–Merida in 2019 on a two-year deal, making the move from BMC alongside team-mates Damiano Caruso and Dylan Teuns.
On 18 July 2019, he abandoned the Tour de France during Stage 12. No reason was immediately given, but later reports indicated that his abandonment was the result over frustration with equipment provided by the team. In an interview he subsequently gave in January 2020, Dennis stated that he left the Tour as his mental health was suffering due to difficulties with the team, and he feared that this would have a knock-on effect on his marriage.
On 25 September 2019, Dennis raced for the first time since abandoning the Tour de France, winning gold in the men's individual time trial at the Road World Championships in Yorkshire. Dennis rode an unmarked BMC bicycle during the World Championship time trial, rather than his trade Mérida machine. Several days later, his former team Bahrain–Merida confirmed that they had parted ways with Dennis on 13 September.
Team Ineos (2020–2021)
On 9 December 2019, it was announced that Dennis would be joining Team Ineos for the 2020 season. The following month Dennis stated that he had abandoned his attempts to become a contender for the general classification in Grand Tours; instead, he would focus on smaller stage races and working as a domestique in the three-week races. In the 2020 Giro d'Italia, Dennis contributed greatly to his teammate Tao Geoghegan Hart's overall victory with impressive pulls on Stage 18 (Stelvio) and 20 (Sestriere). On the former stage, Dennis won the Cima Coppi award by being the first to reach the summit of the highest climb in the race, that being the Stelvio.
Team Jumbo–Visma (2022–present)
On 1 September 2021, it was announced that Dennis would be joining Team Jumbo–Visma in 2022 on a two-year deal; earlier in his career, he had been with the Rabobank Continental Team, with Rabobank being a previous iteration of Team Jumbo–Visma. In his first race of the year, he won his fourth Australian National Time Trial Championships. He led the Tour de Romandie for four days, before dropping to eighth overall on the final individual time trial stage, having lost more than two minutes to eventual winner Aleksandr Vlasov. On 10 February 2023 Dennis announced his retirement from professional cycling by the end of the racing season.
Personal life
In May 2017 Dennis' partner, fellow racing cyclist Melissa Hoskins, announced the couple's engagement as well as her retirement from competition. They married in February 2018. Hoskins gave birth to their first child, a son, later that year, two and a half weeks after Dennis won his first World Time Trial Championship. The family split their time between Girona, La Massana and Adelaide.
Major results
Road
- 2007
- 9th Time trial, UCI World Junior Championships
- 2010
- 1st Time trial, National Under-23 Championships
- 3rd Overall Thüringen Rundfahrt der U23
- 1st Stage 1 (TTT)
- 4th Overall Olympia's Tour
- 5th Time trial, UCI World Under-23 Championships
- 6th Time trial, Commonwealth Games
- 10th Overall Ringerike GP
- 2011
- 4th Road race, National Under-23 Championships
- 2012
- National Under-23 Championships
- 1st Road race
- 1st Time trial
- 1st Overall Thüringen Rundfahrt der U23
- 1st Stage 5 (ITT)
- 1st Memorial Davide Fardelli
- 1st Chrono Champenois
- 2nd Time trial, UCI World Under-23 Championships
- 2nd Trofeo Alcide Degasperi
- 4th Overall Olympia's Tour
- 1st Stage 5 (ITT)
- 5th Overall Tour Down Under
- 5th Trofeo Città di San Vendemiano
- 2013
- 1st Overall Tour of Alberta
- 2nd Time trial, National Championships
- 8th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné
- 2014
- UCI World Championships
- 1st Team time trial
- 5th Time trial
- 2nd Time trial, Commonwealth Games
- 2nd Overall Tour of California
- 1st Stage 3
- 2nd Overall Circuit de la Sarthe
- 2015
- UCI World Championships
- 1st Team time trial
- 6th Time trial
- 1st Overall Tour Down Under
- 1st Overall USA Pro Cycling Challenge
- 1st Mountains classification
- 1st Stages 4 & 5 (ITT)
- Tour de France
- 1st Stage 3 (TTT) Critérium du Dauphiné
- 2nd Time trial, National Championships
- 2016
- 1st Time trial, National Championships
- Eneco Tour
- UCI World Championships
- 2nd Team time trial
- 6th Time trial
- 2nd Overall Tour of California
- 1st Stage 6 (ITT)
- 2nd Overall Tour of Britain
- 1st Stage 7b
- 5th Time trial, Olympic Games
- 2017
- 1st Time trial, National Championships
- 1st Overall Tour La Provence
- Vuelta a España
- 1st Stage 1 (TTT)
- Held after Stage 1
- Tour de Suisse
- 1st Stage 2 Tour of the Alps
- 1st Stage 2 (TTT) Volta a Catalunya
- UCI World Championships
- 2nd Team time trial
- 8th Time trial
- 2nd Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
- 6th Overall Tour Down Under
- 2018
- UCI World Championships
- 1st Time trial
- 3rd Team time trial
- 1st Time trial, National Championships
- Vuelta a España
- Giro d'Italia
- 1st Stage 16 (ITT)
- Held after Stages 2–5
- Tirreno–Adriatico
- 7th Overall Tour de Romandie
- 9th Overall Abu Dhabi Tour
- 1st Stage 4 (ITT)
- 2019
- 1st Time trial, UCI World Championships
- 2nd Time trial, National Championships
- 2nd Overall Tour de Suisse
- 1st Stage 1 (ITT)
- 5th Overall Tour Down Under
- 2020
- 2nd Time trial, National Championships
- 4th Overall Tour Down Under
- 5th Time trial, UCI World Championships
- 2021
- 1st Prologue Tour de Romandie
- 1st Stage 2 (ITT) Volta a Catalunya
- 3rd Time trial, Olympic Games
- 6th Overall Tour of Britain
- 1st Stage 3 (TTT)
- 2022
- 1st Time trial, Commonwealth Games
- 1st Time trial, National Championships
- 1st Stage 1 (TTT) Vuelta a España
- 8th Overall Tour de Romandie
- 2023
- 1st Stage 2 Tour Down Under
- 1st Stage 3 (TTT) Paris–Nice
- 7th Time trial, UCI World Championships
General classification results timeline
Sources:
Grand Tour general classification results | |||||||||||
Grand Tour | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Giro d'Italia | — | — | — | — | DNF | 16 | — | 35 | — | — | 41 |
Tour de France | DNF | — | 101 | DNF | — | — | DNF | — | — | — | |
Vuelta a España | — | 84 | — | — | DNF | DNF | — | — | — | 52 | |
Major stage race general classification results | |||||||||||
Race | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
Paris–Nice | — | — | DNF | — | — | — | — | — | 45 | DNF | 85 |
Tirreno–Adriatico | 77 | — | — | — | 2 | 79 | 95 | 87 | — | — | — |
Volta a Catalunya | — | — | — | DNF | DNF | — | — | NH | 46 | 54 | — |
Tour of the Basque Country | — | — | 42 | — | — | — | DNF | — | — | DNF | |
Tour de Romandie | 76 | 43 | 38 | — | — | 7 | — | 17 | 8 | — | |
Critérium du Dauphiné | 8 | — | 34 | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Tour de Suisse | — | 89 | — | — | 97 | — | 2 | NH | 37 | DNF |
Major Championships timeline
Event | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Olympic Games | Time trial | Not held | 5 | Not held | 3 | NH | |||||
Road race | DNF | — | |||||||||
World Championships | Time trial | 12 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 5 | — | — |
Road race | DNF | DNF | — | — | — | DNF | DNF | — | — | — | |
Team time trial | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | Not held | ||||
National Championships | Time trial | 2 | DNF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | 1 |
Road Race | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNF | — | DNF | — | — | — | DNF |
— | Did not compete |
---|---|
DNF | Did not finish |
NH | Not held |
Track
- 2007
- 1st Team pursuit, National Junior Championships
- 2008
- UCI World Junior Championships
- 1st Team pursuit, UCI World Cup Classics, Melbourne
- National Junior Championships
- 2009
- 1st Team pursuit, UCI World Cup Classics, Beijing
- 2nd Team pursuit, UCI World Championships
- 3rd Team pursuit, National Championships
- 2010
- 1st Team pursuit, UCI World Championships
- National Championships
- 2011
- 1st Team pursuit, UCI World Championships
- 1st Individual pursuit, UCI World Cup Classics, Manchester
- National Championships
- 2012
- 1st Team pursuit, UCI World Cup, London
- National Championships
- 2nd Team pursuit, Olympic Games
- 2nd Team pursuit, UCI World Championships
- 2015
- World Hour record: 52.491 km
- Australian male cyclists
- 1990 births
- Living people
- UCI Road World Champions (elite men)
- Australian Institute of Sport cyclists
- Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia
- Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Olympics
- Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Cyclists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
- Olympic cyclists for Australia
- Olympic silver medalists for Australia
- Olympic medalists in cycling
- Cyclists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
- Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics
- Cyclists from Adelaide
- UCI Track Cycling World Champions (men)
- Australian Tour de France stage winners
- Commonwealth Games medallists in cycling
- Australian track cyclists
- Australian Vuelta a España stage winners
- Australian Giro d'Italia stage winners
- Olympic bronze medalists for Australia
- Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics
- Cyclists at the 2020 Summer Olympics
- Tour de Suisse stage winners
- 21st-century Australian people
- Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
- Sportsmen from South Australia