That Rohan Dennis is amongst the favourites for Friday's blast through the streets of Jerusalem to open the Giro d’Italia is no surprise. He's won both Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana opening stages, so being in the maglia rosa is not a proposition that will faze him if he wins.
However, the Australian comes into this year's Giro with far greater intent than to just win the opening time trial. Dennis' long-term ambitions are to see how far he can develop as a Grand Tour rider and, with the guidance of coach Neil Henderson, he has set about a four-year plan to do just that. The 2018 Giro d'Italia is the next phase of Dennis' journey.
So far, the man from Adelaide has been a prolific winner of individual and team time trial stages, but the conversion from competing against the clock to one in which he must mix it with the likes of Tom Dumoulin and Chris Froome over three weeks is a complicated affair.
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It's taken a complete rethink of training, racing and even where he lives when in Europe. All aspects of what is needed to become a GC rider have been evaluated, processed and adapted to gradually produce the changes required, not only physically but also mentally.
Much like the example set by Bradley Wiggins that culminated in his Tour de France victory in 2012, it'll take time for those changes to become effective. But Dennis realises that his GC plan won’t provide an instant transformation. This is only year-one of what could well be a three or four-year adventure, and it really starts with the coming Giro d'Italia.
At the recent Tour de Romandie, he showed a certain amount of progress in his ability to deal with a major mountain stage. However, the level steps up again in Italy and it's there that we’ll see just how he can cope with repeated back-to-back climbing days.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/philippa-york-rohan-dennis-has-what-it-takes-to-win-a-grand-tour
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