Into the unknown for Rohan Dennis as time trial looms at World Championships

(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

It’s not often the defending champion comes into an event shrouded in such mystery, but such has been the turbulence experienced by Rohan Dennis this summer, it’s hard to say how he might fare in Wednesday’s World Championship time trial. We don’t even know what bike he’ll be riding.

The Australian, who stormed to the title in Innsbruck 12 months ago, hasn’t raced since his sudden exit from the Tour de France in July, reasons for which themselves remain a mystery. As such, it’s difficult to assess, from the outside, what sort of form he’s in, even if he described himself on Monday as “more than confident”.

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Patrick Fletcher

Patrick is an NCTJ-trained journalist, and former deputy editor of Cyclingnews, who has seven years’ experience covering professional cycling. He has a modern languages degree from Durham University and has been able to put it to some use in what is a multi-lingual sport, with a particular focus on French and Spanish-speaking riders. Away from cycling, Patrick spends most of his time playing or watching other forms of sport - football, tennis, trail running, darts, to name a few, but he draws the line at rugby.