"He deserved a nicer farewell, but that's the way it is" - Rohan Dennis to ride final professional races in Canada this weekend

33-year-old Australian Rohan Dennis will bring his glistening career to a close this weekend as he embarks on his final two professional bike races at the GP de Québec and the GP de Montréal.

Prior to the racing getting underway in Canada, Jumbo-Visma's Frans Maassen spoke some kind words of the former two-time individual time-trial world champion. “We really appreciate the fact that he has traveled,” says the sports director. “It shows the professional that Rohan is."

Dennis hasn't raced since finishing 7th in his final crack at taking the Rainbow Jersey in the individual time-trial at the Glasgow World Championships. “We don't have a lot of available men this period, mainly because of the many races. Rohan fully commits himself to the team here," continues Maassen. "He didn't hesitate for a moment and was ready to help the team as the situation called for it. He deserved a nicer farewell, but that's the way it is.”

Dennis's last task as a pro-rider will be to help the likes of Christophe Laporte and Tiesj Benoot. “In advance you give drivers with a good punch a good chance here. Christophe is a rider who can handle such a course well. On Sunday it will be a little more for Tiesj,” said Maassen. “There is some chance of rain. That could well influence the course of the race. In recent years, these races have often only been decided in the last round. I dare not say with certainty that that will be the case again this year. It could easily become very open races that ignite early on. That's not a problem for us.”