Dennis' Setting An Early Bench Mark Tactic Pays Off

06 July 2015 11:28

Rohan Dennis of BMC admitted that his tactic of setting an early benchmark paid dividends as he became the first Maillot Jaune wearer of the 2015 Tour De France.

Dennis, who was one of the early finishers set a time of 14.56 and no-one was able to get near it including Tony Martin of Etixx Quick Step, Trek Factory's Fabian Cancellera who has a good history of wins in Grand Depart prologues or time trials and Tom Dumoulin of Giant Alpecin, as well as Alex Dowsett and Matthias Brandle who have both held the world hour record.

The Australian, who was quite emotional when he saw Chris Froome fail to beat his time, said: "We decided to go off early, set a benchmark and make everyone else chase me. It worked out perfectly.

"There's a little bit of shock. We've worked with the team and came out here about a month ago to check and recon the course. It's the Tour de France and the yellow jersey. I've always dreamed of being in this position and now I am.

"It started to sink in when I saw the big threats come in behind me. It was surreal but a few emotions came out."

Stage One Result

1 Rohan Dennis BMC Racing 0:14:56

2 Tony Martin Etixx - Quick-Step 0:00:05

3 Fabian Cancellara Trek Factory Racing 0:00:06

4 Tom Dumoulin Giant-Alpecin 0:00:08

5 Jos Van Emden LottoNL-Jumbo 0:00:15

6 Jonathan Castroviejo Movistar Team 0:00:23

7 Matthias Brandle IAM Cycling

8 Adriano Malori Movistar Team 0:00:29

9 Wilco Kelderman LottoNL-Jumbo 0:00:30

10 Stephen Cummings MTN - Qhubeka 0:00:32

11 Robert Gesink LottoNL-Jumbo 0:00:33

12 Geraint Thomas Team Sky 0.00.33

13 Alex Dowsett Movistar 0:00:36

14 Bauke Mollema Trek Factory Racing 0:00:37

15 Bob Jungels Trek Factory Racing 0:00:38

Picture copyright of Covsupport News Service. Credit CNS/ES.

Source: DSG