Dennis out of road race, turns attention to Olympic time trial

Rohan Dennis will forgo the Tokyo Olympics road race in favour of the men’s individual time trial, Cycling Australia have announced.

Rohan Dennis in action during his winning ride at the UCI Road World Championships. Source: Getty Images

Dennis has a significant chance to win a medal in the individual event next week, however his decision will leave the Australian road team with only three riders: Richie Porte, Luke Durbridge and Lucas Hamilton.

“Hamilton will be joined on the start line by Luke Durbridge and their team leader Richie Porte while Rohan Dennis will sit out the road race to prepare for next week’s individual time trial,” a press release on the Australian Olympic site read.

Five years ago, in Rio, Dennis saw his hunt for a TT medal encounter a mechanical issue in the final 15 kilometres, allowing Fabian Cancellara, Tom Dumoulin and Chris Froome onto the podium instead.

As a result, the two-time time trial world champion has made the Olympic Games his main priority for the 2021 season.