Dennis: This Giro d'Italia was a big step forward for me
BMC's Australian TT stage winner hopes results he𒁏l𝔉p sponsor search







Australia's Rohan Dennis (BMC) cleverly netted the leader𒅌's pink jersey on stage 2 of this , having just missed out in the opening time trial won by defendiꦑng champion Tom Dumoulin (Su🍬nweb).🎃 Dennis then held the lead for four days, and in doing so completed the set of having held aꦅll three leader's jerseys from each of the Grand Tours.
Dennis: I need to try 💫to learn from thi𓆉s Giro d'Italia
Dennis determined to battle on despite losing Giro dꦛ'Italia lead
ꦡO꧅chowicz: There is no deadline to find new title sponsor
168澳洲♔5最新开奖结果:BMC Racing could be saved by Deloitte sponsorship
Time trial win 🍨puts Dennis back on course at Giro🎐 d'Italia
Dennis' main aim, however, had always been to con𓆏tinue on his journey of trying to develop into a Grand Tour contender. And while in addition to having held the race lead, Dennꦰis powered to a not wholly unexpecte﷽d win during the stage 16 time trial, the 28-year-old came away satisfied with what he learned, and hoping that what he and the team achieved may now help the BMC set-up to find a new sponsor and be able to continue int🐼o 2019 and beyond.
"In the end, it was a big step forward for me and I got a lot of confidence out of this," Dennis told Cyclingnews at 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:the end of the G🉐iro in Rome on Sunday. "The last two days – we won't count today – were probably just a little bit too much. I dropped down to sixth place overall from 13th place on the stage that Chris Froome [Team Sky] won [stage 19 over the Colle delle ༒Finestre on F⛦riday]ꦓ, but that was just a massive day. You've seen a couple of guys come uဣnstuck since that stage, and I can hold my head high after this Grand Tour, I think. Not one day has been easy."
Dennis described regulꦆarly seeing his name in the top 20 on the results sheet day after day as a "massivಞe, massive confidence boost" but said that he's finished the race hungry for more.
"When I won the TT stage,🐲 I thought, "OK, this is great," but I wanted to win by more. Obviously trying to finish in the top 10 overall at this race was a big goal, but I didn't th꧋ink about it too much, and just took it day by day. I did think, though, that it was possible.
"In the end, it was a little bit too much," said Dennis, who finished 16th overall in Rome, 56:07 behind Giro winner Froome. "But I think after this I've learned a lot about how to prepare – about what I need to do to🥂 look after myself better during the race. Basically, I just need to try to do everything a little bit better, and be a little more focus𝐆ed. And I could probably lose some weight, to be completely honest with you – but I wasn't trying to push that limit this time. I think staying healthy and staying strong was a bigger thing for me."
While soꦫme would point out that the Tour de France with, generally, more time-trialling and climbs that aren't quite as steep as those found at the Giro might suit Dennis be🌞tter, the Australian agreed, but pointed out that the 2017 Giro would have suited him better, too.
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buyi🅰ng guides, direct to your inbox!
"The Tour is another completely different race again. You need to have a full team behind you, and it's usually less open. But at last year's Giro I think there was 70km of time trialling, and this year here, OK, there was 45km, so there was still some time trialling, but in the end it's just a few minutes' difference compared to what I could have gained last year," he said of 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:the race that he crashed out of with c♚oncussion last year, which was won by reigning time trial world champion Dumoulin, who finished🎃 second overall to Froome on Sunday.
"I think at the Tour the climbs are a little steadier – not like 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:the Zoncolan [on stage 14], wh🏅ich is just stupid, and the Finestre [stage 19], which is also stupid! But it's the same for everybody. I think learning at a race that is a little more open and a little less controlled is probably t♒he best way."
When it comes to the BMC team, which faces an uncertain future, despite rumours during this 𝄹Giro that it could be saved, Dennis remains hopeful that something def🥂initive will soon be able to be announced.
"I hope there's something. I'm hoping the team survives. There's nothing worse than the situation at the moment when there are 60 to 80 people in the team that will have to look for a new job," he said. "That's never nice, and that's never good for the sport, either. It's a big team and it's a great team. Fortunately, for me, I've got some good resul♛ts and I'll find a team, but to be honest I don't know if that team, wherever I go if BMC f♔old, is going to be as suited to me as BMC is. It's always an unknown, and I just hope that if it is the case [that I have to go somewhere else], that it's a good outcome. That's all I can really ask for.
"We've done everything we possibly could," Dennis said when asked if his stage win and time in the pink jersey might have helped the team's cause. "If a sponsor doesn't want to come on board with our team, then it's really their loss. We've shown that we'🌱re good from the start to the finish of every season. We get results throughout the year – and not just small ones, either. I think any sponsor would be lucky to have us."
Cyclingnews is the world's leader in English-language coverage of professional cycling. Started in 1995 by University of Newcastle professor Bill Mitchell, the site was one of the first to provide breaking news and results over the internet in English. The site was purchased by Knapp Communications in 1999, ꧋and owner Gerard Knapp built it into the definitive voice of pro cycling. Since then, major publishing house Future PLC has owned the site and expanded it to include top features, news, results, photos and tech reporting.📖 The site continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative English voice in professional cycling.