Ahead of his 2018 campaign, cyclist Rohan Dennis reflected on four years of misfortune.

“If you keep knocking on the door, one day it will open,” the South Australian mused in January. On a sunny September day in Innsbruck, Austria, Dennis kicked the door off its hinges.

His time of 1:03.02 across a challenging 52.5km time trial course was more than a minute faster than rival and defending world champion Tom Dumoulin. Donning the hallowed rainbow jersey on the post-race podium, Dennis’s elation was unmistakable.

Rohan Dennis stuns Tom Dumoulin to claim World Road Race time trial title Read more

For the 28-year-old, this triumph has been a long time coming. A development product of the Australian Institute of Sport, Dennis announced himself in 2010 with a track world title in Denmark. He repeated that feat a year later, before a silver medal followed at the velodrome during the London 2012 Olympics. After transitioning to the road, Dennis broke the Tour de France speed record on the opening stage in 2015 and briefly wore the yellow jersey. But time trial success in national colours would prove elusive.

The rider was on course for a podium finish at the 2015 cycling world championships when a puncture dashed his hopes. A year later at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, a broken aero bar necessitated a medal prospect-ending bike change. 12 months ago, Dennis was second fastest at an intermediate time check only to crash in wet Norwegian conditions to end his world title hopes.

“I have done all three: punctured, crashed and broke my bike. So what else can go wrong?” he later joked to SBS.

This year, the stars aligned. Dennis opened his campaign with a dominant time trial victory at the Australian championships in Ballarat, securing the national crown for a third consecutive season. He won individual time trials at the Abu Dhabi Tour, Tirreno-Adriatico and Giro d’Italia, before travelling to the final grand tour of the year – the Vuelta a España – in imposing form.

In Spain, Dennis showed his versatility against the clock: comfortably winning both the 8km race opener and a bumpy 32.7km time trial in the third week of the Vuelta.

In scenic Innsbruck, three obstacles stood between Dennis and the iconic rainbow stripes worn by world champions: the mental demons of recent misfortunes, 2017 champion Dumoulin and a 4.4km climb that reached a maximum pitch of 14 per cent. Ultimately, none proved insurmountable.

Dennis started strongly and clocked the fastest time against the first intermediate point, before increasing his lead over Dumoulin on the steep climb. Clambering into the hot-seat with only the Dutchman remaining on course, Dennis’s triumph was secured – although not that he was taking any chances. “I was considering a bit of a victory salute but I wanted to make sure as you are never sure until Tom crosses the line,” he said afterwards.

The Adelaide local becomes just the second Australian to win time trial world title, following in the footsteps of Canberran Michael Rogers who won a three-peat in the early 2000s. The odds of Dennis repeating that hat-trick are not favourable.

The rider has spoken publicly about his ongoing transition into a general classification rider, and consequent switch in attention away from the time trial discipline. His 2019 move to World Tour team Bahrain-Merida will likely see added emphasis on a more holistic approach to one-week races and three-week grand tours.

But such dilemmas can wait. The time trial world title has been a goal of Dennis’s ever since he first emerged in the junior ranks, but one that had always evaded him. Having focused several successive seasons towards this ambition only to fall at the final hurdle, victory is particularly sweet. “I have never won it in any age group, so to win my first one in seniors is really special,” he said.

The win provides a worthwhile lesson in persistence, from a rider whose career has charted great heights and plummeted to grim lows. Throughout, Dennis kept on knocking on that door. Finally, on Wednesday it opened – to reveal world championship rainbows.