Rohan Dennis left to rue mechanical error in men’s time trial
AUSTRALIA’S Rohan Dennis has been denied an Olympic time trial medal by a superstar field and a cruel mechanical problem in Rio.
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ADELAIDE’S Rohan Dennis has been denied an Olympic time trial medal by a superstar field and a cruel mechanical problem in Rio which left him just eight seconds off the podium.
The 25-year-old was second fastest on the road through the third time check and right in the hunt for the podium when he broke one of his aero bars which forced him to stop and change bikes, eventually finishing fifth.
Four-time world champion and 2008 Olympic champion Fabian Cancellara produced a vintage performance to take gold in 1hr 12mins 15 secs from Dutchman Tom Dumoulin and British Tour de France champion Chris Froome.
Cancellara is poised to retire at the end of the season and his second Olympic gold medal puts an exclamation mark on a stellar career.
After changing bikes Dennis kept charging towards the finish of the 54.5km race against the clock and eventually finished fifth in 1hr 13mins 25 secs.
“These things happen, I can’t be too disappointed, obviously it’s out of my control,” Dennis said.
“Look I can still be proud of how I rode, up until the mechanical, changing the bike and finishing off going hard, don’t give in.
“Physically I felt good, I thought maybe I went out a bit too hard in hindsight but you’ve got to throw it all out there.
“If I pulled it all off and didn’t crack in the last third or without the mechanical I would have been saying it was a perfect day.
“Gold was definitely the number one goal, once I had the mechanical it was all about a medal, don’t give in.
“(It) was a huge ride from Fabian, hats off to him, he’s an impressive rider, he’s won just about every race so he’s a real champion.
“He rode a perfectly paced race today and going out in his last year as Olympic champion is a huge effort.”
It was a case of history repeating for Dennis who had a puncture in the closing stages of the time trial at last year’s worlds and finished sixth.
In Rio he went through the first 10km time check fastest although the heavy hitters were still to come.
But as they went through the undulating course in wet and windy conditions, Dennis continued to lead all-comers and the question was whether he could hang on.
At the halfway point only 30 seconds separated the top seven riders which set the scene for a dramatic finish and Dennis gritted his teeth up the Grumari climb.
But he suffered a heartbreaking mechanical problem inside the final 15km and had to stop and change bikes.
The time trial has been Dennis’ sole focus for the past year ever since he wore the yellow jersey at the 2015 Tour de France by winning the opening stage prologue in the fastest time trial in Tour history.
Dennis is competing in his second Olympics after he won a silver medal in London in 2012 in the team pursuit.
Apart from a fleeting return to break the hour record in February, 2015, that was the last time Dennis has raced on the track as he shifted his attention to the road.
Last year was a breakthrough season for him when he won the Tour Down Under, triumphed at the Tour de France, won the USA Pro Challenge and the team time trial world championship with BMC.
He rode the TDU this year but the start of his season was interrupted by illness as he battled sinusitis through March and April.
But he rebounded to start the Tour de France and did the first two weeks before heading home to Andorra to finetune his preparation.
In the women’s race earlier, American Kristin Armstrong won her third straight Olympic gold medal at the age of 42 with a stunning performance in the time trial over 29.7km.
Armstrong beat Russia’s Olga Zabelinskaya — who was only cleared to start in Rio at the last minute after initially being told she could not compete because of a doping ban. Amanda van der Breggen of The Netherlands, who won the women’s road race on Sunday, was third.
Australia’s Katrin Garfoot defied a month-long illness to finish an impressive ninth.
“Considering I had four weeks to prepare myself for not being on the podium, I am pretty happy with my ride,” Garfoot said.
“It was nice to give it my all, I had a really good ride and surprised myself.
“I didn’t have power on so I couldn’t get angry at myself but technically I think I was pretty good. I didn’t know where I was at (power) so was just riding by feel.”
reece.homfray@news.com.au
Originally published as Rohan Dennis left to rue mechanical error in men’s time trial
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