Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Rohan Dennis, the Tour de France’s first Maillot Jaune

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HomeStoriesRohan Dennis, the Tour de France's first Maillot Jaune
Rohan Dennis
Rohan Dennis, the 2015 Tour de France’s first leader.

Stage One of this year’s Tour looked tailor made for Tony Martin (Germany & QuickStep); or just maybe rising Giant home boy chronostar Tom Dumoulin? – but a name which kept appearing in the Australian press as Le Tour loomed large was that of BMC’s 25 year-old South Australian rider, Rohan Dennis.

Dennis was happy to admit he’d been prepping specifically for the stage and that he was, ‘feeling great’ about a parcours which played to his strengths.

Martin struggled in the heat of Utrecht – not an issue for Adelaide boy Dennis – and the distance was too short for the German’s ‘big diesel’ capability.

Dumoulin fell short whilst Cancellara proved there’s life in the old … I can hardly bear to say it … “Gladiator,” yet.

But it was the young Australian who we watched fall apart in the closing kilometres of the Commonwealth Games TT in Glasgow, last year against Alex Dowsett who got to smile widest.

Rohan Dennis
Rohan in action at the Commonwealth Games’ Time Trial last year. Photo©Martin Williamson

Dennis was originally a swimmer until The South Australian Sports Institute visited his school and tested him on their Talent Identification Programme when he was just 15 years old.

Initially he was training for the bike incognito so as his swimming coach wouldn’t find out – but an unsuccessful trip to the Australian age-related swimming champs convinced him to change course and he turned to the bike.

He won the 2006 Australian Novices TT Championship and the following year he was in the team – along with Jack Bobridge – which won the Australian Junior Team Pursuit Championship.

Within a year he was a World Junior Champion in the discipline, taking the Australian Junior Points and Pursuit Championships along the way.

By 2009 he was fast enough to make the senior Aussie team pursuit squad and rode with them to silver at the Worlds.

Rohan Dennis
A very youthful Rohan (2nd L) with teammates Cameron Meyer, Leigh Howard and Jack Bobridge celebrate their silver medals at the men’s team pursuit during the 2009 World Championships.

Silver became gold for 2010 and he took the Australian U23 Time Trial for Team Jayco to boot as well as the Tour of Geelong.

With Rabobank Continental for 2011 he defended his rainbow jersey but was back with Jayco for 2012.

This was the year when he really began to get noticed, taking the Aussie U23 road and TT champs, silvers in the Worlds and Olympic team pursuit championships and the GC in the U23 Thuringen Rundfahrt.

Rohan Dennis
Rohan at the 2012 U23 Worlds. Photo©Ed Hood

And his London Olympics team pursuit silver marked the end of his track days as he pledged 100% allegiance to the road.

Garmin signed him for 2013 and there was a silver in the Australian Elite TT champs and a stage and GC win in the Tour of Alberta – an auspicious World Tour debut.

He started the Tour that year but didn’t finish.

Rohan Dennis
Rohan has always excelled at TT’s, here scorching to second place for Garmin in the Tour of Romandie. Photo©Fabrice Coffrini

Last season began with Garmin but ended with BMC and a World Team Time Trial title in Ponferrada with his new squadra.

Prior to the Worlds he finished his first Grand Tour – the Vuelta, always a landmark in any rider’s career.

Rohan Dennis
Rohan slipped on the advertising mats on the finish line of the time trial in last year’s Vuelta, prompting their swift removal before the rest of the field arrived. Photo©Unipublic

And those watching for ‘signs’ would have spotted his fifth spot in the Worlds TT, up from 12th in 2013.

This year has been ‘super’ with a stage and GC win in the Tour Down Under, a successful hour record bid, a spell in yellow in the Dauphine and now the seventh Aussie to pull on a maillot jaune.

Dennis covered the 13.8 kilometres in Utrecht at 55.45 kph, besting David Zabriskie’s 54.676 kph for the 19.0 kilometre TT in the 2005 Tour and even the 55.152 kph by Chris Boardman in the 1994 Tour prologue in Lille over 7.2 K to post the fastest ever Tour individual chrono.

In case you’re not good at arithmetic his speed in mph is around 34.6.

Sadly – but not for Cancellara – Dennis could only ride his yellow BMC road machine for one day – but he could yet stand atop the podium again come the Stage Nine TTT.

Ed Hood
Ed Hood
Ed's been involved in cycling for over 50 years. In that time he's been a successful time triallist, a team manager and a sponsor of several teams and clubs. He's also a respected and successful coach and during the winter months was often working in the cabins at the Six Days for some of the world's top riders. Ed remains a massive fan of the sport and couples his extensive contacts with an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the minutiae and the history of our sport. In February 2023 however, our dear friend and beloved colleague Ed suffered a devastating stroke and faces an uncertain future; Ed has lost his ability to speak, to read, and has lost movement on the right side of his body. He's working with speech and physical therapists on rehabilitation, but all strokes are different and each patient responds differently, so unfortunately recovery is one day at a time. Ed ran his own business installing windows, and will probably not be able to work again. Please consider joining us to make a contribution to Ed's GoFundMe page to help stabilise and secure his future.

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