Rohan Dennis announces retirement at end of 2023
'It is still a long season ahead, however it will definitely be my last as a professional' says Australian
Rohan Dennis (Jumbo-Visma) has announced that the 2023 season will be his last a professional rider.
The Australian revealed the news in an Instagram post on Friday afternoon.
"Thank you Melissa Dennis for supporting me throughout my entire professional career, all while raising two of the best kids I could ever ask for," Dennis wrote.
"It is still a long season ahead, however it will definitely be my last as a professional."
The upcoming campaign will be Dennis' 11th as a pro during a career which has seen him race with Garmin, BMC, Bahrain, Ineos Grenadiers, and his current team.
Along the way, Dennis has taken 32 victories, including two world time trial titles in 2018 and 2019, the Commonwealth Games time trial title in 2022, and four Grand Tour stage victories, also in individual time trials.
The 32-year-old has also claimed four Australian time trial titles and also held the World Hour Record from February to May 2015, setting a distance of 52.491km.
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Dennis' time trialling ability has also seen him achieve major stage results throughout his career, including wins at the Tour Down Under, USA Pro Challenge, and Tour de la Provence as well as podium spots at Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour de Suisse.
He also played a key role as super-domestique in Tao Geoghegan Hart's Giro d'Italia victory in 2020.
Dennis came up through the Australian Institute of Sport, racing on the road and track – he was twice a team pursuit world champion with his national team – before turning pro with Garmin back in 2013. He showed early promise with a win at the Tour of Alberta and the best young rider's jersey at the Critérium du Dauphiné.
However, he would make a mid-season switch to BMC the following year, going on to help the US squad take the first of two team time trial rainbow jerseys at that year's World Championships.
2015 saw Dennis enjoy his best year yet, winning the Tour Down Under, US Pro Challenge, and blasting to yellow with the fastest ever-Tour de France time trial in Utrecht. His most productive spell on the bike followed, with 17 more wins – including his first world title in Austria – coming before his move to Bahrain.
His time there would be short-lived, however, with the Australian leaving the team after just eight months, having unexpectedly abandoned the Tour de France mid-way through. In September he stormed to another world time trial title aboard a BMC bike.
A move to Ineos Grenadiers for the pandemic-hit 2020 season brought a lean spell in terms of wins but he put in a top-notch performance to help Geoghegan Hart to the maglia rosa with his ride on stage 18 up the Stelvio Pass a stand-out performance.
Earlier in the year, Dennis had courted controversy when he appeared to break COVID-19 lockdown rules in Spain, writing "Cracked and left the house – COVID-19 can suck my ass and so can quarantine".
The past two seasons have seen Dennis collect stage wins at the Tour de Romandie and Volta a Catalunya with Ineos, time trial bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, then with Jumbo-Visma an Australian title and his latest, a last-kilometre attack to take stage 2 of the Tour Down Under this month.
Dennis was a surprise omission from Jumbo-Visma's Tour de France squad last season after falling ill at the Tour de Suisse beforehand. It's unclear whether he'll race the July Grand Tour this season, though the Road World Championships and a crack at a third time trial title looks set to be his final outing as a pro.
"I'm not sure if it will be the Giro or the Tour yet," Dennis told Rouleur last November. "Obviously, the Tour would be great prep for Worlds which is 10 days after, and the Worlds time trial is a race I really want to have another crack at.
"The time trial course is back where I think it should be in the 40km-plus mark. I think it should be closer to the hour."
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Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, she had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur. She writes and edits at Cyclingnews as well as running newsletter, social media, and how to watch campaigns.
Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships, and the spring Classics. She has interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Demi Vollering, and Remco Evenepoel, and her favourite races are the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix.
Season highlights from 2024 include reporting from Paris-Roubaix – 'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix – and the Tour de France – 'Disbelief', gratitude, and family – Mark Cavendish celebrates a record-breaking Tour de France sprint win.