Back to the future for Dennis

He’s not rushing to make a decision on his future, however, with a season in the Jayco-AIS squad and commitments on the track ahead of him.

The 22-year-old impressed most observers with his exploits on home turf last month, taking fifth overall and riding an aggressive race. With the efforts of Will Clarke and Bernard Sulzberger also two stand out achievements, Dennis contributed heavily to the UniSA team’s best-ever performance in the event.

And that has led to interest from up to six professional outfits, none of which the Adelaide native would disclose, although he admitted the attention had been welcome after a year in which he failed to find the form that many had expected on his arrival at the Dutch development outfit.

“I’ll say there have been some nibbles… Although I haven’t snapped any lines reeling in the fish yet!” said Dennis. “I have plenty of time to get some runs on the board and I don’t want to decide on my future yet. I’ve still got to look at what’s going to be best for me in the future in terms of my development.”

Dennis admitted that he was pleased with his development as a rider purely at the Tour Down Under, citing his experience two years ago as reason to be even more pleased with the maturity he displayed in his performance.

“You can always have one ripper day but when it comes to the pros you have to back it up, so my goal changed to be able to back up for the Stirling stage [after making the day’s break on the opening day – ed.]. “It showed that I might be good for a stage but I can also ride up there with the big guys for another day,” he explained.

“It’s something I’ve had to learn; at the Tour Down Under in 2010 I went as hard as I possibly could and I wasn’t really thinking about what I was doing. I just wanted to get in the break every day instead of sitting back and letting it happen. I was too worried about getting the exposure rather than letting it happen.

“Not having that pressure on yourself lifts the weight off your shoulders and things seem to happen easier.”

And it's this ability to race more maturely that has pro teams interested; whilst Dennis is flattered by the attention he’s not rushing to make a decision, having been scarred by the experience of the Pegasus Sports project, for which he was supposed to ride in 2011.

“It’s not so much about the money it’s about what’s best for myself in the future and what’s going to help me have a longer career in this sport,” Dennis said. “I’m sure some teams will offer a lot more money but there’s more to it than that. We saw with HTC-Highroad that they never had the best bus but they always seemed to get the best results. They always had young guys who became superstars, like Mark Cavendish, John Degenkolb and Edvald Boasson Hagen… And that’s just three of them.

“I’ve got to look at who the directors are on the team and if they’re going to suit my style as a rider – it’s just going to take a few months to sort out all that stuff.”

Those next few months will be busy for Dennis as he prepares for the UCI Track World Championships in Mebourne, where he’ll likely ride as part of the team pursuit squad, having set a new Australian record with the South Australian outfit at last month’s national track titles.

“I’ve got track commitments for the next couple of months – that’s the main priority,” he explained. “Then I have a two-month stint in Europe, including a two-week block of training as soon as I get there. It’s not a lot of time but it’s enough to get more runs on the board to show that the Tour Down Under wasn’t just a fluke.

“For my own sake I want to boost my confidence a little bit more, especially leading into the London Olympics. There’s also track Worlds, which should be another chance to boost the confidence… And there’s nothing holding us back from winning the gold in Melbourne