Every morning over the last week of the Tour de France, Rohan Dennis woke up in pain. As he recalled to Cyclingnews: “The thighs, back … everything was aching.”
The Australian was two days away from finishing his first Tour as he spoke, knowing, too, that he had two days in the Alps to get through before Sunday’s finish in Paris.
But Dennis (BMC Racing) was determined to get through the 19th and 20th stages in the Alps and be there for the final and 21st stage from Sevres, on the outskirts of Paris, to the Champs Elysees, where he could finally start to savour his breakthrough achievement. That achievement was not just to finish the Tour, but also to impress as he did in it.
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Although, as Paris neared, Dennis, 25, was happy to focus on finishing the Tour for the first time – his one previous start in 2013 ended after eight days due to injury.
Asked before Saturday’s 110.5km 20th stage from Modane Valfrejus to l’Alpe d’Huez if he was still seeking an opportunity to get in race winning move or to just reach Paris, he said: “The opportunity of just finishing will be enough for me … 110km to l’Alpe d’Huez. I’m just going to the finish within the time cut and then Paris it is.”
Tejay van Garderen’s abandon
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