Rohan Dennis targets Tour Down Under victory in first Ineos race

Rohan Dennis will lead Ineos at the Tour Down Under in what will be his first race for the British team.

The Australian will be supported at his home stage race by a strong line-up, including Luke Rowe, Owain Doull and Pavel Sivakov, as he targets the overall victory.

Ian Stannard, Dylan van Baarle and Chris Lawless complete the seven-man squad, in what is the first WorldTour event of the 2020 season.

Ineos sports director Brett Lancaster said: "We’re taking seven strong guys into the race. Rohan has won the race before and knows what it takes to win. He will be our leader in his hometown."

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Dennis previously won the six-day stage race in 2015, beating Richie Porte by just two seconds. However, should Dennis not deliver Ineos will trust in either Pavel Sivakov or Dylan van Baarle to challenge for the overall victory.

"We’ve got great insurance policies in Pavel and Dylan. They’ve been here training since the new year and are both in good shape. We’ve got some cards to play and the Paracombe stage, on day three, will show very clearly where we’re all at," added Lancaster.

Dennis won't be the only one beginning life at a new team at the Tour Down Under, as Sam Bennett makes his debut for Deceuninck - Quick-Step and will aim to gain his first stage wins for his new Belgian employers in Australia.

Chris Lawless, who beat Greg Van Avermaet to the Tour de Yorkshire title last year, will be Ineos' option in the sprint stages, and Lancaster says the British team will be going out on the offensive straight from the off in 2020: "We also have Chris for the sprint days and by all accounts, he’s in good condition. We’re gonna give it a good go."