Rohan Dennis revealed last year that he was on a "slippery slope" to an eating disorder as a result of trying to lose weight to compete for the overall title in stage races and Grand Tours.

Several years ago, Dennis, a former track athlete and current time trial world champion, announced his intention to become a Grand Tour contender within four years. Last year, he proved his potential by finishing second in the Tour de Suisse.

However, Denis has dropped the Grand Tour project and will instead concentrate on time trial titles (the Olympics and World Championships are his main goals for 2020).

In an interview with the Adelaide Advertiser (opens in new tab), Dennis opened up about his approach to food and his struggles with weight. [Last year, he said, "Being a Grand Tour rider would be something I could do physically. To be honest, I started eating and not eating, and it was a slippery slope, like a complex, or a disorder, or something like that." [If I drank one beer, I felt guilty and didn't eat the next day at training. So I couldn't train properly, I couldn't have a good session, I'd eat the bare minimum, and then I'd bonk again. Then I would feel like crap, feel down, and just keep going."

Coupled with his desire to stay light was the mental stress caused by the split with his Bahrain-Merida team after their sudden loss at the Tour de France. In the aftermath, Dennis withdrew from social media and began to focus on the World Championships, pointing to his own head as he crossed the finish line and praising psychologist David Spindler.

Dennis' victory in Yorkshire was highlighted, suggesting that his preparation had been flawless.

"Right before the World Cup I was down to 68 kg, but that was due to stress; I was eating between 100 and 300 g of chocolate every night.

"I ended up taking creatine and whey protein powder to get back down to my time trial weight (70-71 kg). I'm still skinny at that weight, but I no longer look in the mirror and think, "I'm too skinny."

After competing in the Bay Crits last week, Dennis will officially begin his 2020 campaign, making his Ineos debut at the Australian National Time Trial Championships on Wednesday. Later this month, he will compete in the Tour Down Under before heading to Europe for the Giro d'Italia in May.

After the Giro, which features three time trials, he will focus on the summer Olympic gold medal he was disappointed with in Rio four years ago, and will look for a third straight win at the world championships in Switzerland in September.

While a Grand Tour appearance is unlikely in an Olympic year, Dennis will not be copying former chase rider Bradley Wiggins, who won the Tour de France with Ineos in 2012.

"I pulled the reins quite a bit early last year," he said.

"I'm not a very skinny person by nature. But when it comes to cycling, I gain weight quickly and I bulk up easily compared to (Egan) Bernal and the pure climbers. I don't know if it's worth the stress to go along with that. I'm more comfortable being the best in the world at something or living a life outside of cycling."