Early life, education and track career Dennis was born on 28 May 1990 in
Adelaide,
South Australia, where he grew up. Dennis began his career by focusing on the track, and was part of the Australian team that won the team pursuit at the
UCI Track Cycling World Championships in
2010 and
2011, and took the silver medal in the
team pursuit at the
2012 Summer Olympics.
Garmin–Sharp (2013–2014) Dennis joined for the 2013 season, and made his
Tour de France debut later in the year, pulling out of the race before Stage 9. Having won the young rider classification at the
Critérium du Dauphiné in June, Dennis took his first victories for the team at September's
Tour of Alberta, where he won the third stage from a six-rider group and maintained his overall lead over the final two stages. In 2014, Dennis finished second overall behind
Bradley Wiggins at the
Tour of California, after placing second to Wiggins in the
individual time trial on stage two, before winning the third stage to
Mount Diablo. He also placed second in the
Circuit de la Sarthe,
BMC Racing Team (2014–2018) 2014–2015 In August 2014, Dennis made a rare mid-season transfer to the . He went on to win the
team time trial at the
UCI Road World Championships with his new team. Dennis started the 2015 season at home in Australia, finishing second at the
Australian National Time Trial Championships, before winning a stage on his way to the overall victory at the
Tour Down Under. On 8 February, he set a new
hour record of , beating
Matthias Brändle's record by . The record stood until 2 May, when it was broken by
Alex Dowsett. Dennis was selected to ride the
Tour de France as part of the squad supporting
Tejay van Garderen. He won the opening
individual time trial stage, to take the first yellow jersey of the race. His average speed of for the route established a new record average speed for a Tour de France individual time trial stage. Following the Tour de France, Dennis won two successive stages and the overall classification at the
USA Pro Cycling Challenge, and was a member of the squad that won the
team time trial at the
UCI Road World Championships. He won the Sir Hubert Opperman medal and trophy for Australia's best all-round cyclist in 2015.
2016 Dennis took his first elite national road title at the
Australian National Time Trial Championships in January, finishing 38 seconds clear of his closest rival,
Richie Porte. He then won the sixth stage
individual time trial at May's
Tour of California, and ultimately finished the race in second overall, behind
Julian Alaphilippe. He was a contender for a medal in the
road time trial at the
Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, but a broken handlebar forced him to change bikes, finishing fifth on the day. Dennis added a further second-place overall finish at September's
Tour of Britain, winning the penultimate stage after attacking prior to the finish in
Bristol. Having won the individual time trial on stage 2 and been part of the
team time trial win on stage 5, Dennis led the
Eneco Tour by 16 seconds going into the final day, but he withdrew from the race due to a crash.
2017 Dennis retained his
Australian National Time Trial Championships title in January, finishing almost a minute clear of his next closest competitor,
Luke Durbridge. After a sixth-place finish at the
Tour Down Under while also helping teammate
Richie Porte to the overall victory, Dennis won the
Tour La Provence, taking two second-place finishes over the three stages. leading the race overall for a day, and taking a stage win on the final
individual time trial stage, however he abandoned the Giro d'Italia on stage four due to headaches and nausea caused by a crash on stage two. He returned to racing at the
Tour de Suisse, where he won the individual time trials that bookended the race.
2018 , where he became the third Australian rider to wear the leader's jersey at all three
Grand Tours Having won a third consecutive title in the
Australian National Time Trial Championships in January, Dennis took a stage victory in the
individual time trial at the
Abu Dhabi Tour, which moved him into the race lead prior to the final day; he ultimately finished ninth overall, after losing time on the uphill finish to
Jebel Hafeet. He added a further individual time trial stage win at
Tirreno–Adriatico, while also finishing in the top ten overall at the
Tour de Romandie. At the
Giro d'Italia, Dennis was narrowly defeated in the opening time trial in
Jerusalem by
Tom Dumoulin. However, he took the race leader's pink jersey the following day, by picking up a time bonus in an intermediate sprint. In doing so, he became the first Australian to lead the Giro d'Italia since
Simon Clarke in
2015, and the third Australian to wear the leader's jersey in all three Grand Tours, after
Bradley McGee and
Cadel Evans. He held the lead as the race returned to Italy, ultimately losing the lead after stage 6, which finished at
Mount Etna. He went on to win the stage 16 time trial and finished the race in 16th place overall, 56 minutes and 7 seconds down on winner
Chris Froome. He won
the first stage at the
Vuelta a España to complete his set of winning a stage at the three
Grand Tours, and became the fifteenth rider (and first non-European) to have won an individual time trial at each Grand Tour. He went on to win the stage 16 time trial, and left the Vuelta a España immediately after to prepare for the
UCI Road World Championships in Austria, winning the
time trial title by over a minute ahead of defending champion Dumoulin. He also helped his squad win the bronze medal in the
team time trial. At the end of 2018, he won two major Australian awards:
Australian Institute of Sport Performance Awards – Male Athlete of the Year and
Cycling Australia's Sir
Hubert Opperman Medal, which he had previously won in 2015.
Bahrain– (2019) In August 2018, it was announced that Dennis would join in 2019 on a two-year deal, making the move from alongside team-mates
Damiano Caruso and
Dylan Teuns. He made his first start in team colours at the
Australian National Time Trial Championships, where he was beaten to the title by
Luke Durbridge. He did not win until June's
Tour de Suisse, when he won the opening
individual time trial stage, on his way to an overall finish of second place behind
Egan Bernal. On 18 July, he abandoned the
Tour de France during Stage 12. No reason was immediately given, but later reports indicated that his abandonment was the result over frustration with equipment provided by the team. In an interview he subsequently gave in January 2020, Dennis stated that he left the Tour de France as his mental health was suffering due to difficulties with the team, and he feared that this would have a knock-on effect on his marriage. On 25 September, Dennis raced for the first time since abandoning the Tour de France, defending his
time trial title at the
UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire. Dennis rode an unmarked
BMC bicycle during the race, rather than his trade
Merida machine. Several days later, his former team confirmed that they had parted ways with Dennis on 13 September.
Team Ineos (2020–2021) On 9 December 2019, it was announced that Dennis would be joining for the 2020 season. The following month Dennis stated that he had abandoned his attempts to become a contender for the general classification in
Grand Tours; instead, he would focus on smaller stage races and working as a domestique in the three-week races. before going on to finish in fourth place overall at the
Tour Down Under. He was unable to win a third successive
time trial title at the
UCI Road World Championships, finishing in fifth place. He then contested the
Giro d'Italia, which was held after the World Championships due to having been postponed as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. In the final week of the race, he was a key
domestique for
Tao Geoghegan Hart's eventual general classification victory, – and to the summit finish at
Sestriere on stage 20. Dennis won the race's
Cima Coppi award by being the first to reach the summit of the highest climb in the race, which was the Stelvio Pass. He then won the
prologue at the
Tour de Romandie, holding the race lead for a further two stages thereafter, before a crash on stage three saw him cede the lead. He then took his first road medal at the
COVID-19 pandemic-delayed
Olympic Games in Tokyo, winning a bronze medal in the
road time trial, missing out on the silver to
Tom Dumoulin by two-and-a-half seconds. His last start of the season was at the
Tour of Britain, finishing sixth overall following the victory for the in the
team time trial on stage three.
Team Jumbo–Visma (2022–2023) On 1 September 2021, it was announced that Dennis would be joining in 2022 on a two-year deal; earlier in his career, he had been with the , with being a previous iteration of . He led the
Tour de Romandie for four days, before dropping to eighth overall on the final
individual time trial stage, having lost more than two minutes to eventual winner
Aleksandr Vlasov. Later in the season, Dennis won the gold medal in the
road time trial at the
Commonwealth Games, finishing almost half a minute clear of
Fred Wright and
Geraint Thomas, the latter having been delayed by a crash. He missed the subsequent
road race for medical reasons, having been taken to hospital. At the
2023 Tour Down Under, Dennis won the second stage in
Victor Harbor, making a move inside the final kilometre from a group of five riders that would ultimately hold off the closing group of sprinters. On 10 February 2023, Dennis announced his retirement from professional cycling by the end of the racing season. He supported general classification victories for
Jonas Vingegaard at
O Gran Camiño and the
Tour of the Basque Country, and for
Primož Roglič at the
Giro d'Italia. and he failed to finish the
Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec. ==Personal life==