The Rohan Dennis thread

[dastott]

Position actually looks better on the Merida bike compared to the BMC in those photos.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Re: Re:

I have a hard time believing it's all down to frame of the bike. I'm suspicious of the helmet, maybe the wheels, maybe the skinsuit (but Sportful is a good brand with connections to high tech Castelli to maybe not that last one).

According to Hushovd on Norwegian TV2 it's about the wheels. Hushovd talked to Rohan yesterday and Dennis had said he had a 40W disadvantage compared to better wheels...

Article in Norwegian - (Google Translate is your friend):
https://www.tv2.no/sport/10731333/

Yes, from what I've heard the wheels actually make a bigger difference than the frame of the bikes at that level, the difference can be really big in a long ITT like the WC.

 

[Red Rick]

40W? Gimme those BMC wheels I can go twice as fast as I do now

 

[Moviefan1203]

What is he going to say to his teammates? He quite literally walked out on them.

 

[vladimir]

Re:

Rohan Dennis is a disgrace for this sport, you just don't do this to your team no matter what reason you have.

This! 100 % agree

 

[the delgados]

Re: Re:

Rohan Dennis is a disgrace for this sport, you just don't do this to your team no matter what reason you have.

Disgrace is that that team was even allowed to come to existence

"Rohan Dennis is a disgrace for this sport"...blah blah blah..."no matter what reason you have."
That is a remarkable thing to say given the history of this team and its financial backers.
Seriously, a five minute google search will tell you all you need to know about Nasser and the horrendous crimes he and his cronies have committed to the people who reside in his country--people who have committed so-called crimes that include wanting to have a voice. If records submitted by creditable world-wide institutions are to be believed, this Prince Nassar guy took place in torture. I'm not saying he was a by-stander who gave the nod to his cronies; I'm saying the guy actually laid hands on so-called dissidents.
I am almost certain that this is not why Rohan bailed, but it provides an opportunity to shed light on the people who sign his pay cheques.
UCI leaders should be ashamed of themselves.

 

[tobydawq]

He will surely be fired, right?

 

[Leinster]

Re:

He will surely be fired, right?

No, he’s going to be paraded through the Manama town square and publicly beheaded in the soccer stadium.

 

[topcat]

Dennis having a hissy fit and abandoning was easily the most exciting thing that happened during the stage. BM (apart from Teuns) are a shambles at this tour. 7 of their riders don't want to be there.

 

[Leinster]

Re:

Dennis having a hissy fit and abandoning was easily the most exciting thing that happened during the stage. BM (apart from Teuns) are a shambles at this tour. 7 of their riders don't want to be there.

To be fair, you could make a case for every team bar Ineos, Quickstep and Jumbo being a shambles at some level or other. Maybe give the invited teams like Wanty or TDE a pass for lack of resources and just trying harder.

 

[hayneplane]

Re: Re:

Dennis having a hissy fit and abandoning was easily the most exciting thing that happened during the stage. BM (apart from Teuns) are a shambles at this tour. 7 of their riders don't want to be there.

To be fair, you could make a case for every team bar Ineos, Quickstep and Jumbo being a shambles at some level or other. Maybe give the invited teams like Wanty or TDE a pass for lack of resources and just trying harder.

Even Jumbo with the George Bennett bottles saga was also a shambles though overall they have had a great race so far.

 

[markene2]

If this is true then i will be suprised if he races another race for the team. They should just let him rot for the rest of the contract if they dont fire him, you dont abandon your team over petty ***.

 

[luckyboy]

Re: Re:

I can't believe that Bahrain's equipment is that bad. And just to randomly leave the race at that point over it doesn't make any sense either.

Tratnik and Dennis both have TT wins this season on that equipment. Nibali had very good TTs at the Giro, Caruso in the final TT there too. Padun won the Ukraine TT Champs.

Rohan Dennis is a disgrace for this sport, you just don't do this to your team no matter what reason you have.

Disgrace is that that team was even allowed to come to existence

"Rohan Dennis is a disgrace for this sport"...blah blah blah..."no matter what reason you have."
That is a remarkable thing to say given the history of this team and its financial backers.
Seriously, a five minute google search will tell you all you need to know about Nasser and the horrendous crimes he and his cronies have committed to the people who reside in his country--people who have committed so-called crimes that include wanting to have a voice. If records submitted by creditable world-wide institutions are to be believed, this Prince Nassar guy took place in torture. I'm not saying he was a by-stander who gave the nod to his cronies; I'm saying the guy actually laid hands on so-called dissidents.
I am almost certain that this is not why Rohan bailed, but it provides an opportunity to shed light on the people who sign his pay cheques.

UCI leaders should be ashamed of themselves.

And Dennis chose to join that team of his own free will for a big cheque of blood money lol. Yeah he's a great guy for sure.

 

[Danskebjerge]

All in all, I think we can conclude that in this year's Tour, Rohan Dennis is no longer a threat.

(Sorry, I just had to.)

 

[HelloDolly]

Whatever the merits of the team or the equipment you do not abandon your team mates and support staff in the middle of the Tour de France

Rohan Dennis is acting very strangely especially on the eve of the IT ...maybe the pressure just got to him and he couldnt handle it ??

 

[Moviefan1203]

I hope it’s not mental health.

 

[glassmoon]

Re: Re:

I can't believe that Bahrain's equipment is that bad. And just to randomly leave the race at that point over it doesn't make any sense either.

Tratnik and Dennis both have TT wins this season on that equipment. Nibali had very good TTs at the Giro, Caruso in the final TT there too. Padun won the Ukraine TT Champs.

Rohan Dennis is a disgrace for this sport, you just don't do this to your team no matter what reason you have.

Disgrace is that that team was even allowed to come to existence

"Rohan Dennis is a disgrace for this sport"...blah blah blah..."no matter what reason you have."
That is a remarkable thing to say given the history of this team and its financial backers.
Seriously, a five minute google search will tell you all you need to know about Nasser and the horrendous crimes he and his cronies have committed to the people who reside in his country--people who have committed so-called crimes that include wanting to have a voice. If records submitted by creditable world-wide institutions are to be believed, this Prince Nassar guy took place in torture. I'm not saying he was a by-stander who gave the nod to his cronies; I'm saying the guy actually laid hands on so-called dissidents.
I am almost certain that this is not why Rohan bailed, but it provides an opportunity to shed light on the people who sign his pay cheques.

UCI leaders should be ashamed of themselves.

And Dennis chose to join that team of his own free will for a big cheque of blood money lol. Yeah he's a great guy for sure.

Nope, he isn't. No one who choose to join that atrocious team is.

 

[Ripper]

First, I hope this is not something really terrible.

RD has been known as a hothead for a while, and a bit like a snowflake. Not sure if there are mental health issues (I hope not), or we are talking just personality issues, but if this is part of the pattern he's had of throwing a fit, I really hope it's something he works on intensively. The team sounds like it's managed by clowns, and I would not be surprised if there were differences in opinion, but that does not matter in this case. The rest of the team have to deal with the same clowns and no one is acting anything close to like this.

 

[Ripper]

I will add that my chief concern is that there could be serious mental health issues following this incident. So hopefully things get better.

 

[dastott]

Wonder if the arrival of Rod Ellingworth is already affecting things at the team? One would suspect that Dennis would be looking forward to his arrival, or perhaps not?

 

[wirral]

Hmm, I wonder if that is what Kelly was alluding to last night.

Kelly knows a tremendous amount about what is going on in the various teams and always plays his cards very close to his chest, remaining diplomatic and balanced.

Kirby knows next to nothing about what is going on in the various teams and always wades in with wild aspersions and crazy theories based on the flimsiest of evidence.

Kelly talked at length last night about certain riders having very strong preferences for a particular brand of bike or clothing. He also stated that the advantages on which the preferences were based were often imagined and the claimed energy savings highly exaggerated. He, of course, didn't name any names.

Later, the Dennis / Bahrain row boils over. Were the two things related or was it just a coincidence?

 

[Jagartrott]

Re: Re:

Cycling News has updated their article on 'Rohan Dennis investigation' and among the changes are: that CN reporting says he was "seen arguing with the team car" before he quit the stage / abandoned the Tour

Why an in-race dispute? It could be as simple as
Directeur Sportif : "Rohan, don't go in the breakaway because the time-trial is coming up next stage"
Rohan Dennis : "You think I don't know that? That's the final straw, I'm quitting the team"

Accumulating a grudge with the Bahrain-Merida management over time in the past, is doing something aggressive in the immediate race scenario which is tactically questionable, they say no, he loses his temper and quits

Or the converse, DS orders Dennis to bridge to the breakaway, he doesn't want to, thinks the directeur's ideas are so incompetent that it's outrageous, quits the race

If we're speculating, I'd say what happened before was:
- Dennis does poorly in ITTs early in the season, for example Tirreno (8th); he is not happy with the material and wants changes
- Team/Manufacturer promises improvements
- Rides a very good Tour de Suisse, feels he has a chance to overtake Bernal in the final ITT but does poorly again; the promised improvements are not there or fail to work
- He is very upset and demands changes for the Tour de France
- During the Tour, these changes cannot be implemented anymore, gets more and more upset as the ITT looms and feels he will be humiliated as a world champion in the most televised race of the year
- Something such as what you suggested above is the final straw; has hissy fit and quits

 

[DanielSong39]

So is his career over?

He's been much slower on the ITT this year so he very much could have lost 40W, but I doubt it's the equipment

He's literally bleeding ~1-2s/km compared to last season

 

[Nirvana]

Re: Re:

I can't believe that Bahrain's equipment is that bad. And just to randomly leave the race at that point over it doesn't make any sense either.

Tratnik and Dennis both have TT wins this season on that equipment. Nibali had very good TTs at the Giro, Caruso in the final TT there too. Padun won the Ukraine TT Champs.

Are months that i'm waiting an answer on Nibali performances from who support that teory about the terrible equipment of the team that cost load of watts and seconds to him in TTs, because if that's true you have to wonder what Nibali could do with a BMC or Pinarello bike that are the ones picked as best.
No one also explained why Dennis, on the same route, was only 9" slower than last year in the national TT championship over 40,9 kms, a ludicrous difference on such distance.

 

[claude cat]

Rupert Guiness has some answers

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cycling/what-the-hell-am-i-doing-behind-rohan-dennis-tour-walk-out-20190719-p528v1.html

‘To this day, there are times when I think 'what the hell am I doing?’,’’ Dennis said. ‘‘In 2018 I reckon there were half a dozen times when I thought 'I could quit – right now’ and January last year was the big one . . . I did not want to race my bike ever again. I was over this sport. But after a while you snap out of it and maybe it’s a a bit of a depressed period, for a week or something, then you realise why you like it again. I have these little periods when things aren’t going well, across the board, sometimes it’s a bit tough. It’s the same with every job . . . you’re bashing your head against the wall 'what am I doing? what am I doing?’ Eventually that wall shows a crack and you’re 'that’s why I’m doing it’, but I still go through those periods.’’