Rohan Dennis was surprised to take the leader's jersey at Tirreno-Adriatico after a late crash delayed teammate Greg Van Avermaet, but the Australian is hoping the blue jersey stays in the BMC family even after Saturday's big mountain finish to Terminillo. Dennis said he is ready to target overall victory if designated team leader Tejay van Garderen is unable to follow the expected attacks from the big-name Grand Tour riders such as Nairo Quintana, Vincenzo Nibali and Tom Dumoulin.
Dennis avoided a late crash on stage 3 by squeezing through the riders on the ground. He now leads the overall classification with Van Avermaet, Damiano Caruso and van Garderen all on the same time thanks to BMC's victory in the opening team time trial, and the trio are prepared to use their numbers as an advantage.
"Tejay is our main leader, he's number one. I'm the reserve but Caruso can also be useful. We can be very strong on the climb, with three guys that can do very well. We'll use all three," Dennis explained in the post-stage press conference.
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"Ideally Tejay is in the front at the top, but the worst case scenario is that Caruso or I take over and we still have someone in contention and in the lead. Then it comes down to tactics and the final time trial in San Benedetto."
Dennis knows that Tuesday's final 10km time trial on the Adriatic seafront offers him a possibility to pull back some time lost on the stage to Terminillo and after Sunday's stage on the steep climbs of Le Marche.
He is ambitious as he develops and tests his ability as a stage racer, and is determined not to give up a shot at victory this week.
Grand Tour apprenticeship to continue at the Giro d'Italia
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