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Rohan Dennis is the 2018 world time trial champion

First Australian to earn the title since 2005

September 26, 2018
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He won two time trials in this year’s Vuelta a España and one in the Giro d’Italia, wearing the leader’s jersey in both races, but Rohan Dennis’s greatest accomplishment of 2018 is taking the world chrono championship Wednesday in Innsbruck, Austria. Dennis held off the challenge of 2017 titlist Tom Dumoulin, the silver medalist, to become the first Australian to take the elite men’s time trial gold since Michael Rogers in 2005.

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The Course

The power riders faced a difficult route over 52.5-km from Rattenburg to Innsbruck. The Gnadenwald climb would be a huge factor. The official stats was 4.4-km of 7.8%, but some thought it was even steeper.

Early Riders

Jan Barta of the Czech Republic was an early leader with a time of 1:07:10 but both Martin Toft Madsen (Denmark) and Tejay van Garderen (U.S.A.) were setting best intermediate times on the course. Madsen took over the hot seat after posting 1:06:25.

The Battle for the Rainbow Jersey

German four-time world chrono champion Tony Martin set the best intermediate time at the 16.6-km point, but then Dennis clipped it with 17:58. Dumoulin was eight-seconds slower than Dennis at the first check.

Canada’s entrant Hugo Houle stopped the clock in Innsbruck at 1:08:42, which was 32nd on the day.

Kiwi Patrick Bevin was going great guns on the course, as was Portugal’s Nelson Oliveira. Meanwhile, Dennis passed his two-minute man, Spaniard Jonathan Castroviejo.

The second intermediate time was taken atop the Gnadenwald at the 35.2-km mark. There, it was revealed that Dennis was a minute faster than Dumoulin. Belgian Victor Campenaerts was the third fastest with all the riders having registered that split time.

Dumoulin got a little loose in a corner as he tried to make up the minute on the Aussie. The Dutchman would squeak by Campenaerts for the silver. The Belgian in turn roasted the Polish winner of the 2014 road race title, Michal Kwiatkowski, for the bronze.

Thursday is the first of the road races, with the Junior women and men contesting for the medals.

2018 UCI Road World Championships Elite Men’s Time Trial
1) Rohan Dennis (Australia) 1:03:02
2) Tom Dumoulin (The Netherlands) +1:21.09
3) Victor Campenaerts (Belgium) +1:21.62
32) Hugo Houle (Canada) +5:39

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