Rohan Dennis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rohan Dennis
Dennis in 2018
Personal information
Born (1990-05-28) 28 May 1990 (age 33)
Adelaide, South Australia
Height1.82 m (5 ft 11+12 in)[1]
Weight72 kg (159 lb; 11 st 5 lb)[2]
Team information
Current teamVisma–Lease a Bike
Disciplines
  • Road
  • Track
RoleRider
Rider typeAll-rounder
Amateur teams
2009–2010Australia Institute of Sport
2011Rabobank Continental Team
2012Team Jayco–AIS
Professional teams
2013–2014Garmin–Sharp
2014–2018BMC Racing Team[3]
2019Bahrain–Merida
2020–2021Team Ineos[4]
2022–2023Team Jumbo–Visma[5]
Major wins
Grand Tours
Tour de France
1 individual stage (2015)
1 TTT stage (2015)
Giro d'Italia
1 individual stage (2018)
Vuelta a España
2 individual stages (2018)
2 TTT stages (2017, 2022)

Stage races

USA Pro Cycling Challenge (2015)
Tour Down Under (2015)

One-day races and Classics

World Time Trial Championships (2018, 2019)
National Time Trial Championships
(2016–2018, 2022)

World Hour record

8 February 2015, 52.491 km

Rohan Dennis (born 28 May 1990) is an Australian former professional road racing cyclist. He won back to back UCI men's individual time trial world championships in 2018 and 2019.

On 31 December 2023, he was arrested and charged with causing death by dangerous driving, driving without due care, and endangering life, after the vehicle that he was allegedly driving killed his wife Melissa Hoskins in Adelaide.

Early life and education[edit]

Dennis was born on 28 May 1990[6] in Adelaide, South Australia, where he grew up.[7]

Career[edit]

Early career[edit]

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.[8]

Garmin–Sharp (2013–14)[edit]

Dennis joined Garmin–Sharp for the 2013 season, and made his debut at the Tour de France, pulling out of the race before Stage 9.[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.[10]

BMC Racing Team (2014–18)[edit]

In August 2014, Dennis made a rare mid-season transfer to the BMC Racing Team.[11] He went on to win the World team time trial championships with his new team.

Dennis on his way to winning stage one of the 2015 Tour de France

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.[12] The record stood until 2 May 2015, when it was broken by Dowsett.[13] Dennis was selected to ride the Tour de France as part of the BMC Racing Team squad supporting Tejay van Garderen.[14] 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.[15] With this performance, he established a new record average speed for an individual time trial at the Tour de France.[16] He won the Sir Hubert Opperman medal and trophy for Australia's best all-round cyclist in 2015.[17]

He was named in the start list for the 2017 Giro d'Italia,[18] however he abandoned the race on the 4th stage after injuries due to a crash on stage 2.[19] 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.[20]

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.[19] 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.[21]

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.[22] 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.[23] 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.[24]

Bahrain–Merida (2019)[edit]

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.[25]

On 18 July 2019, he abandoned the Tour de France during Stage 12. No reason was immediately given,[26] but later reports indicated that his abandonment was the result over frustration with equipment provided by the team.[27] 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.[28]

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.[29][30] 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.[27]

Team Ineos (2020–2021)[edit]

On 9 December 2019, it was announced that Dennis would be joining Team Ineos for the 2020 season.[31] 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.[28] 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 (2022–2023)[edit]

On 1 September 2021, it was announced that Dennis would be joining Team Jumbo–Visma in 2022 on a two-year deal;[32][33] earlier in his career, he had been with the Rabobank Continental Team, with Rabobank being a previous iteration of Team Jumbo–Visma.[5] In his first race of the year, he won his fourth Australian National Time Trial Championships.[34] 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.[35]

On 10 February 2023, Dennis announced his retirement from professional cycling by the end of the racing season.[36]

Personal life[edit]

In May 2017 Dennis' partner, fellow racing cyclist Melissa Hoskins, announced the couple's engagement as well as her retirement from competition.[37] They married in February 2018.[38] 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.[39] As of 2017 the family were splitting their time between Girona, La Massana, and Adelaide.[37] They subsequently had another child.[40]

On 31 December 2023, Dennis was arrested and charged with causing death by dangerous driving, driving without due care, and endangering life, after he had allegedly fatally injured Hoskins while driving a ute in the Adelaide suburb of Medindie. He was released on bail, and is due to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court in March 2024.[40][41]

Major results[edit]

Road[edit]

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
1st Mountains classification
1st Young rider classification
5th Trofeo Città di San Vendemiano
2013
1st Overall Tour of Alberta
1st Young rider classification
1st Stage 3
2nd Time trial, National Championships
8th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné
1st Young rider classification
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
1st Young rider classification
2015
UCI World Championships
1st Team time trial
6th Time trial
1st Overall Tour Down Under
1st Young rider classification
1st Stage 3
1st Overall USA Pro Cycling Challenge
1st Mountains classification
1st Stages 4 & 5 (ITT)
Tour de France
1st Stages 1 (ITT) & 9 (TTT)
Held , & after Stage 1
1st Stage 3 (TTT) Critérium du Dauphiné
2nd Time trial, National Championships
2016
1st Time trial, National Championships
Eneco Tour
1st Stages 2 (ITT) & 5 (TTT)
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
1st Points classification
Vuelta a España
1st Stage 1 (TTT)
Held after Stage 1
Tour de Suisse
1st Stages 1 (ITT) & 9 (ITT)
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
1st Stages 1 (TTT) & 7 (ITT)
6th Overall Tour Down Under
2018
UCI World Championships
1st Time trial
3rd Team time trial
1st Time trial, National Championships
Vuelta a España
1st Stages 1 (ITT) & 16 (ITT)
Held , & after Stage 1
Giro d'Italia
1st Stage 16 (ITT)
Held after Stages 2–5
Tirreno–Adriatico
1st Stages 1 (TTT) & 7 (ITT)
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[edit]

Sources:[42]

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[edit]

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
Legend
Did not compete
DNF Did not finish
NH Not held

Track[edit]

2007
1st Team pursuit, National Junior Championships
2008
UCI World Junior Championships
1st Team pursuit
2nd Individual pursuit
1st Team pursuit, UCI World Cup Classics, Melbourne
National Junior Championships
1st Individual pursuit
1st Points
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
1st Team pursuit
2nd Individual pursuit
2011
1st Team pursuit, UCI World Championships
1st Individual pursuit, UCI World Cup Classics, Manchester
National Championships
1st Team pursuit
2nd Individual pursuit
2012
1st Team pursuit, UCI World Cup, London
National Championships
1st Team pursuit
2nd Individual pursuit
2nd Team pursuit, Olympic Games
2nd Team pursuit, UCI World Championships
2015
World Hour record: 52.491 km

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Rohan Dennis – The INEOS Grenadiers". Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Rohan Dennis". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Dennis to ride Vuelta a España for BMC after leaving Garmin". Cyclingnews.com. August 2014.
  4. ^ "Team Ineos". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  5. ^ a b Benson, Daniel (1 September 2021). "Rohan Dennis leaves Ineos Grenadiers for Jumbo-Visma". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  6. ^ "RIDER PROFILES ROHAN DENNIS". Cycling Australia. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  7. ^ "Rohan Dennis at Garmin–Sharp". Garmin–Sharp. Boulder, Colorado: Slipstream Sports LLC. 28 December 2012. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  8. ^ "Olympics 2016 – Olympics 2016 Live Scores – Olympics 2016 Results".
  9. ^ "Rohan Dennis pulls out of debut Tour de France a day earlier than planned". Velonation. 7 July 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  10. ^ "Bittersweet silver for Dennis in the Commonwealth Games". Cyclingnews.com. 31 July 2014.
  11. ^ Rohan Dennis to join BMC Racing from Garmin-Sharp in rare mid-season transfer | Cycling News | Sky Sports
  12. ^ "Rohan Dennis sets new Hour Record". cyclingnews.com. 8 February 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  13. ^ "Alex Dowsett sets new Hour Record of 52.937km". cyclingnews.com. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  14. ^ "Tour de France: BMC Racing announce team to support van Garderen". cyclingnews.com. 24 June 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  15. ^ Wynn, Nigel (4 July 2015). "Rohan Dennis beats Boardman's Tour de France time trial speed record". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  16. ^ Zeb, Woodpower (4 July 2015). "Tour de France: Dennis sets record speed to claim first maillot jaune in Utrecht". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  17. ^ "Rohan Dennis wins the 'Oppy' as Australian cycling's best in 2015". ABC News. 13 November 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  18. ^ "2017: 100th Giro d'Italia: Start List". Pro Cycling Stats. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  19. ^ a b Fotheringham, Alasdair (5 May 2018). "Dennis nets Giro d'Italia lead with time-bonus sprint". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  20. ^ Fotheringham, Alasdair (21 August 2017). "Dennis takes second Grand Tour lead of career in 2017 Vuelta". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  21. ^ "Dennis: This Giro d'Italia was a big step forward for me". cyclingnews.com. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  22. ^ "Vuelta a Espana 2018: Stage 1 Results". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  23. ^ "Australia's Dennis conquers past to win cycling world title". The Guardian. 27 September 2018.
  24. ^ "Dennis wins the Oppy for a second time". SBS Website. 24 November 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  25. ^ "Bahrain-Merida confirm signing of Rohan Dennis". cyclingnews.com. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  26. ^ "Bahrain-Merida launch investigation after Rohan Dennis quits Tour de France". Cycling News. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  27. ^ a b Benson, Daniel (29 September 2019). "Bahrain-Merida terminate Rohan Dennis' contract with immediate effect". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  28. ^ a b Smith, Sophie (21 January 2020). "Dennis reveals mental health struggle behind Tour de France exit". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  29. ^ "Road World Championships: Rohan Dennis defends time trial title". 25 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  30. ^ "Road World Championships: Rohan Dennis defends time trial title". 25 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  31. ^ "ROHAN DENNIS JOINS TEAM INEOS". Team Ineos. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  32. ^ "'Dream asset' Dennis joins Team Jumbo-Visma for two years". Team Jumbo–Visma. 1 September 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  33. ^ "Rohan DENNIS". UCI. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  34. ^ Giuliani, Simone (12 January 2022). "Australian Road Championships: Rohan Dennis blitzes field to take out elite men's time trial". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  35. ^ Benson, Daniel (1 May 2022). "Rohan Dennis dramatically loses Tour de Romandie with final-day collapse". VeloNews. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  36. ^ Ostanek, Daniel (10 February 2023). "Rohan Dennis announces retirement at end of 2023". cyclingnews. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  37. ^ a b Braverman, Jessi (2 May 2017). "Melissa Hoskins announces retirement". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  38. ^ "Dennis wins the Oppy for a second time". sbs.com.au. 24 November 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  39. ^ Bacon, Ellis (12 January 2019). "Rohan Dennis: A monkey off my back". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  40. ^ a b Leckie, Evelyn (31 December 2023). "Professional cyclist charged with causing the death of Olympian wife Melissa Hoskins in Adelaide crash". Australia: ABC News. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  41. ^ "Aussie cycling star Rohan Dennis charged over wife's death". News.com.au. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  42. ^ "Our eight riders for the Vuelta a España". Team Jumbo-Visma. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.

External links[edit]

Records
Preceded by UCI hour record (52.491 km)
8 February 2015 – 2 May 2015
Succeeded by