The UCI Arbitration Commission investigating Rohan Dennis' complaint against his former team, Bahrain McLaren, has dismissed his claim for financial compensation.

Dennis had filed a complaint with the UCI after his contract was terminated by the team in September 2019, demanding full payment of the remaining contract money (until the end of 2020) and legal fees.

"The UCI Arbitration Panel has today (30.07.2020) rendered its decision in the case of Rohan Dennis against UCI WorldTeam Bahrain-McLaren's paying agent Bahrain World Tour Cycling Team," a UCI statement said. [The panel dismissed the riders' claims. The decision may be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport within 30 days.

Dennis' contract was terminated on September 13, 2019, but the team did not publicly announce it until September 29 (the day of the World Championships road race) after Cycling News learned of the news and approached the team. He joined the team from BMC Racing at the end of the 2018 season, less than a year into a two-year contract.

"This contract termination was not made public in order to allow Mr. Dennis to prepare undisputedly for the UCI 2019 Road World Championships Individual Time Trial Race," the team statement read.

Dennis last raced for Bahrain-Merida at the Tour de France, where he abandoned mid-stage on the eve of the individual time trial. He did not race for the team again.

The ongoing arbitration trial has been delayed for several months due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for multiple testimonies. Today, however, the UCI issued a statement calling for the proceedings to be concluded.

According to Cycling News, the UCI has asked for mediation twice in recent months, but neither request was concluded. Both parties exchanged written statements, which included statements from witnesses.

Dennis' attorney, Andrew McQuaid, did not comment on the matter when contacted by Cycling News.

Their falling out stemmed from the Tour de France, where Denis abruptly abandoned the race midway through stage 12 in the Pyrenees, on the eve of the individual time trial in which he was supposedly the favorite to win. Denis' withdrawal from the race was shrouded in mystery, the reason for which was never revealed, and the team launched an "investigation" into the incident.

Denis and the team clashed over equipment issues, and it was revealed that Denis was particularly unhappy with the clothing provided to him prior to the time trial.

Dennis later said in an interview about his decision: "I became the kind of person I am because of the situation I was in, because of my family situation. The environment I was in, let's say, was not a good or happy person to be around. [It] snowballed and got worse and worse, and ultimately, I didn't want to be a statistic for athletes who might end up divorced.

The team refused to publicly brush Dennis aside, but he spent the next several months withdrawing from social media and virtually alone. Dennis returned at the World Championships in Yorkshire and won his second time trial world title, riding a blacked-out BMC bike rather than the Merida he had used all season.

At that time, Dennis' contract had already been terminated and he was no longer obligated to ride team equipment. On the day his contract termination was announced, Dennis competed in the World Championship road race on a BMC-branded bike.

Dennis moved to Ineos for 2020 and competed in the Tour Down Under and Volta Ao Algarve as a British team before the season was interrupted by the pandemic. In Australia, he gave a press interview in which he said he was "in a much better state mentally" and even claimed that the Bahraini team had somehow tried to talk him out of it.

"It got progressively worse and I didn't realize how bad it was getting because different events were putting me in a bad place," he revealed.

"There were certain behaviors that were somewhat calculated to affect my sleep and my training at certain times of the day and on the weekends so that I couldn't do anything. I couldn't do anything on the weekends

"They were very clear incentives to transfer me. I am not someone who is going to be taken advantage of in any way, shape or form. It was a disaster."

Dennis has yet to comment publicly on the outcome of the UCI's decision, but earlier this year he said he would not really be able to move forward until it was settled.

"Until that door closes and arbitration is over, I won't be completely out of my mind, but I'm not bitter."

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