Rohan Dennis admitted he had a lot to be proud of as his bid to win the Abu Dhabi Tour came crashing down on the mountainous final stage.
The Australian is looking to transform himself from time trial specialist to all-round cyclist as he eyes future Grand Tour success – and his bid got off to an encouraging start as he finished ninth overall as cycling’s Middle East swing drew to a close.
He had to watch as Alejandro Valverde erased a 24-second gap coming into the Tour’s finale, but Dennis did himself and the red jersey proud as he finished 23rd on the arduous ascent up Jebel Hafeet – finishing only 1min 43secs adrift of veteran Valverde and only 1min 29secs behind him in the overall standings.
“I can be proud. I did everything I possibly could and the team was excellent, leading me into any crosswinds in every corner and I couldn’t be happier with what they did to deliver me onto the climb. And I think I did the red jersey proud,” said BMC’s Dennis, 27.
“All round I’m happy, I would have been happier with a better result but all round the mental battle of keeping going and not stopping when you’re dropped (off the peloton), it’s what we’re working on at the moment and it’s the important thing.”
And with where he’s trying to get to in the sport, as well as defending the lead, Dennis said the only strategy was to pour every last ounce of effort into the final ascent, even as he began to drop down the rankings as the climbing specialists launched their attacks.
“My legs, I just didn’t have it today,” added the man who blitzed the field to win the Stage 4 time trial in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
“They just started riding away from me. We decided if that happened, Damiano (Caruso) and Brent (Bookwalter) would pace me as long as possible and minimise the time loss. It didn’t work but it’s all good practice.
“I had to respond to what was going on, that was the best way. You know what you can do when you’re fresh but it’s always an unknown after you’ve done 188km with crosswinds, so I just had to go by how I felt.”
One of the men Dennis will be hoping to draw inspiration from on his new voyage is winner Valverde, and the Spaniard was the man Dennis identified as the biggest threat to his bid for glory ahead of the final day.
“When he looked back at one stage I wasn’t feeling too good and he wasn’t even breathing,” joked the Adelaide native.
“I picked the right guy to pinpoint as the favourite. Hats off to him, he’s a classy rider and deserved to win.”
Here's 👇 how the GC looks at the end of #RideToAbuDhabi with @RohanDennis finishing ninth overall after battling all the way to line on Jabel Hafeet. #Ride_BMC pic.twitter.com/90EpkuzUN5
— BMC Racing Team (@BMCProTeam) 25 February 2018
But his 23rd place on the stage showed Dennis he is not far away from making his dreams of becoming a GC contender a reality.
“I think I’m in good company, it’s good to know I’m not completely behind them,” he added.
“I am within the range of where I need to be in February. I said it’d be a good test of where I need to get to and we’ve got a few things to do.”
