So far in 2016, Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing) hasn't had the season that he was hoping for as he builds toward the Rio Olympic Games. The Australian time trial specialist has been plagued with several bouts of illness that derailed his early season program, causing him to miss Paris-Nice and abandon Volta a Catalunya after the first day.
This week he's at the Tour of California – where he finished second overall in 2014 – hoping to get back on track for the Tour de France and the ultimate goal of winning Olympic gold.
"I've had a bit of sickness, but that's all passed," Dennis told Cyclingnews Saturday evening in the lobby of the team's hotel. "A few camps and heavy training hasn't brought it back, so I think it's all done thankfully – touch wood. It's all gone, and now I look forward, obviously, to the Tour of California and then everything is prepping towards Rio."
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After a January start at the Tour Down Under, where he finished two stages on the podium, Dennis contracted sinusitis and decided to skip Paris-Nice. He was on track for a comeback in Catalunya, but flu-like symptoms flared up on stage 1, knocking him out of that race. He returned to racing earlier this month at the Tour de Yorkshire, where he finished 22nd overall.
Despite the setbacks, Dennis is coming into California as one of the top favourites for the overall win. But with everything that has happened so far this year, does he put himself on the favourites list?
"Yes and no," he said. "Training has been going well. Yorkshire went better than I expected. Obviously I wasn't at the level I needed to be to win, but it's a bit hard when I haven't really raced since January. So to still be up there in contention somewhat for the overall in Yorkshire, I was very happy with, and it showed that, OK, I'm not perfect at this time of year – stage races haven't been exactly finished or even started since January – but other than that, everything is looking good."
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