Rohan Dennis charged by police after death of wife in car incident | Video

Rohan Dennis finished out his career as a Jumbo Visma rider over the last two seasons, above on the front at 2022 Paris-Nice. He now faces serious criminal charges in his native Australia (Photo: Alex Broadway)

Rohan Dennis, the former world TT champion who has just retired from cycling, has been charged with several alleged crimes following the death of his wife in a car incident.

It is alleged Dennis (33) was behind the wheel when his wife - Melissa Dennis, née Hoskins - was struck by a vehicle in Adelaide and sustained fatal injuries. While the 32-year-old was treated at the scene and taken to hospital she later died of her injuries.

Dennis was arrested in Medindie, Adelaide, close to the family home, and questioned. He has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving as well as driving without due care and endangering a life.

He has since been released on bail and was due to appear in court to face charges in March. That court appearance - before Adelaide Magistrates Court - was scheduled for March 13th.

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The crash occurred just after 8pm on Saturday night and while Mrs Dennis was rushed to Royal Adelaide Hospital, she later died from her injuries. The couple, who married in 2018, have two children.

Dennis had said during an interview three years ago he had abandoned the 2019 Tour de France - when he walked out on his Bahrain Merida team - because he feared he would become divorced from his wife.

Dennis said his wife had a very frank conversation with him before the Tour and had said some things that were not easy for him to hear.

He explained that had he continued with his approach to cycling at that time, rather than re-set his career, he feared the break-up for his marriage.

Mrs Dennis was also a very successful cyclist and won a gold medal in the team pursuit at the World Track Championships in 2015. She also won two silvers and a bronze medal in the TTT at the World Road Championships between 2012 and 2014.

She represented Australia at the Olympic Games in both London and Rio in 2012 and 2016 respectively.

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